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Impeachment for dummies
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Modern Cancer Hospital (Editors Note: Chief Justice Renato Corona will go on trial in
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charges, including betrayal of public trust as a result of his
alleged partiality in cases involving the Arroyo administration.
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The impeachment trial will be the second in 11 years.
Members of the Senate served as judges in late 2000 at the
trial of then President Joseph Estrada, who was charged with POPULAR
accepting bribes, committing graft, betraying public trust and
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knowingly violating the Constitution.
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To January 4th, 2016
acquaint the public with the impeachment process and
trial, we are printing a primer derived mostly from the book
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Impeachment Q & A. The book was edited by Carmelo V. top Marcos cro
Sison and Florin T. Hilbay, and was published by the
January 5th, 2016
University of the Philippines Law Complex in 2000.)
1. What is impeachment? Investors wary
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Impeachment is the process of removing from oce
January 5th, 2016
high government ocials charged with serious
wrongdoing. As a process, impeachment is a formal
inquiry aimed at making public ocers accountable to SC okays ouste
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the people based on the principle that public oce is a public trust.
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mayor in Pang
In contrast, other public ocers may be removed from oce through otherHospital
means: recall for elective local January 5th, 2016
ocials; expulsion for members of Congress; and criminal or administrative disciplinary proceedings for
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public ocers in general.
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Hospital.
Impeachment is a mode of removing a special class of public ocers the procedure for which is particularly
outlined in the Constitution.
The word impeach comes from the Middle English empechen which means to impede or to accuse
and the Latin impedicare which means to entangle or to put in fetters. The person impeached is not
necessarily adjudged guilty as impeachment only means that he has been formally charged with an
impeachable oense but his innocence or guilt is determined in a trial.
2. What is the origin of impeachment?
The Philippines adopted its provisions on impeachment from the US Constitution. In the United States, the Romeo deects credit to coaches,
framers of the Constitution incorporated a procedure for impeachment to prevent the President from teammates after 41-point night
becoming too powerful.
They limited his authority and gave Congress the means to keep him within constitutional limits by
establishing a mechanism for his peaceful removal from oce. However, they saw to it that these means
should not be used readily to oust a President from oce simply because of power politics. Impeachment
under the Constitution requires fairness and adherence to constitutional standards.
3. Who are the impeachable ocers?
The following are the impeachable ocers: the President, the Vice President, the members of the Supreme
Court, the members of constitutional commissions and the Ombudsman. Romeo talks about his 41-point nigh
4. May other public ocers be removed from oce by impeachment?
The Constitution authorizes the impeachment of the above ocers on the following grounds:

Culpable violation of the Constitution

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Treason Federer coach

Bribery

Graft and corruption

Other high crimes

Betrayal of public trust

Culpable violation of the Constitution means a willful violation of the Constitution and excludes acts
committed unintentionally or through an honest mistake of judgment. Treason and bribery should be
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understood in accordance with their meaning in the Revised Penal Code.
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Treason is committed in times of war by levying war against the Philippines or adhering to the enemy,
giving it aid and comfort.
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Bribery is committed by a public ocer who (1) receives a gift in connection with the performance of his
ocial duties in order to perform an act whether constituting a crime or not, or (2) accepts gifts oered to
him by reason of his oce, or (3) being a public ocer entrusted with law enforcement, refrains from
arresting or prosecuting an oender who has committed a crime punishable by life imprisonment or death,
in consideration of a gift or present.

Graft and corruption, on the other hand, refers to those acts enumerated in the Anti-Graft and Corrupt
Practices Act, including receiving any gift in connection with any transaction wherein the public ocer in his
ocial capacity has to intervene under the law, or giving any private party any unwanted benets through
manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence.

Other high crimes and betrayal of public trust have not been given any denitive meaning in law and Star Wars: The Force Awakens retur
jurisprudence. Philippines cinemas January 8

6. What is the nature of the impeachment process?

The impeachment process is both a political and a legal process. It is a political process because the power
to impeach and convict lies solely in a political branch of the government Congress whose members are
elected representatives who act on the basis of political considerations. Nonetheless, the Constitution does
not provide that the impeachment process, both as to the grounds for impeachment as well as the
procedure involved, is entirely at the discretion of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

It requires the House to observe a procedure for the adoption of the articles of impeachment and the
Senate to conduct a trial before a decision is reached. That the senators are made to take an oath to do
impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws means that the impeachment process is a political
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act arrived at through the observance of legal proceedings.
government forum near you!

Therefore, the process of impeachment would necessarily involve political considerations as the outcome is
determined by duly elected representatives of the people, but, because this is a trial, the Senate must
observe due process and respect the rights of the ocer impeached.

7. What rules govern impeachment proceedings?

According to the Constitution, Congress shall promulgate its rules on impeachment. The House and the
Senate have adopted the rules of procedure governing impeachment proceedings in their respective
chambers.

In the House, the Rules of Criminal Procedure, as far as practicable, are made to apply. In the Senate, the Bruce Willis in a new action-packed
EXTRACTION
Rules of Court are made to apply insofar as they are applicable, and the rules of evidence and procedures
are liberally construed in the impeachment proceedings.

8. Who has the power to initiate an impeachment?

The House of Representatives has the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment.

9. Who may le a veried impeachment complaint?

The following may le a veried complaint for impeachment: (1) any member of the House; (2) any citizen
upon a resolution or endorsement by any member of the House; and (3) at least one-third of all the

members of the House, in which case such complaint or resolution shall constitute the articles of
impeachment and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed. Modern
10. Where must the veried complaint by a citizen or a member of the House be led? Cancer
The veried complaint for impeachment shall be led with the Oce of the Secretary General and Hospital
immediately referred to the Speaker of the House who shall have it included in the order of business within
American JCI
Under the Rules of the House the committee on justice is the committee designated by the chamber to Cancer
determine the suciency, in substance and in form, of the complaint for impeachment led by a citizen or Technologies
a member of the House. In addition, the committee also has the power to conduct hearings and
recommend to the House whether probable cause exists for the impeachment of a public ocer.

A recommendation nding probable cause must be sustained by a vote of at least one-third of all the
members of the House, while a recommendation nding no probable cause may be overruled by one-third
of all House members.

12. What is the role of the House in the trial?

The House shall act as the sole prosecutor at the trial in the Senate through a committee of 11 members to
be elected by a majority vote.

13. What is the role of the Senate?

It is the Senate which has the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment.

14. What is the duty of the Senate upon the presentation of the articles of impeachment?

The Senate shall, at 2 oclock in the afternoon of the day (except Saturdays, Sundays and nonworking News Modern
holidays) following such presentation, or sooner if ordered by the Senate, proceed to the consideration of
such articles. It shall continue in session from day to day (except Saturdays, Sundays and nonworking
Cancer
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holidays) after which the trial shall commence (unless otherwise ordered by the Senate) until nal Hospital
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15. May impeachment proceedings be initiated against the same ocial more than once within a year? Treatment in
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be... China,
No, impeachment proceedings cannot be initiated against the same ocial more than once within a period International
of one year.
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16. Who is the presiding ocer in the impeachment trial? Hospital.
When the Philippine President is on trial, the Chief Justice shall preside. In all other cases of impeachment,
the Senate President shall preside.

17. Does the Chief Justice, as presiding ocer in the trial, have the power to vote?

No.
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18. What are the powers of the presiding ocer?

The presiding ocer shall have the power to make and issue, by himself or by the Secretary of the Senate,
all orders, mandates and writs authorized by the Senate, and to make and enforce such other regulations
and orders on the premises as the Senate may authorize or provide.

19. Does the presiding ocer have the power to rule on questions relating to evidence presented during
the trial?

Yes. The presiding ocer may rule on all questions of evidence including, but not limited to, questions of
materiality, relevancy, competency or admissibility of evidence and incidental questions. The ruling shall
stand as the judgment of the Senate unless a senator shall ask that a formal vote be taken thereon, in
which case it shall be submitted to the Senate for decision after one contrary view is expressed; or the
presiding ocer may, at his option, in the rst instance, submit any such question to a vote.

20. What is the eect of the trial on the legislative business of the Senate?

The legislative business of the Senate shall be suspended at 2 oclock in the afternoon, or at such other
hour as the Senate may order, of the day appointed for the trial of an impeachment.

21. May the senators put a question to the witnesses or any of the counsel?

Yes. If a senator wishes to put a question to a witness, he or she shall do so within two minutes. A senator
may likewise put a question to a prosecutor or to counsel of the prosecutor or the person impeached. The
parties or their counsel may interpose objections to witnesses answering questions propounded by any

senator and the merits of any such objection may be argued by the parties or their counsel.

22. Is the trial required to be conducted in public?

Yes.

23. Is an article of impeachment divisible for the purpose of voting thereon at any time during the trial?

No. Once voting has commenced on an article of impeachment, it shall continue until completed on all
articles of impeachment, unless the Senate adjourns for a period not to exceed one day or adjourns sine
die.

24. How shall the Senate render its decision?

to consider other matters as may be determined to be appropriate before pronouncing a judgment.

25. Is a motion for reconsideration of the vote on any article

of impeachment allowed?

No.

26. What is the vote required to convict an impeachable ocer?

The concurrence of two-thirds of all senators is required.

27. What is the quantum of evidence required in the trial?

The Rules of Court recognize three standards required in making a decision: proof beyond reasonable
doubt, preponderance of evidence and substantial evidence, depending on whether the proceeding is
criminal, civil or administrative, respectively.

Under the Rules of Court proof beyond reasonable doubt means moral certainty or that degree of proof
which produces conviction in an unprejudiced mind.

Preponderance of evidence simply means superior weight of evidence as determined by the court
considering all the facts and circumstances of the case, including the witnesses manner of testifying, the
nature of facts to which they testify and personal credibility.

Substantial evidence refers to such amount of relevant evidence which a reasonable mind might accept as
adequate to justify a conclusion.

Whether an impeachment proceeding is criminal, civil or administrative in nature is still a subject of debate.
At best, it can be said that an impeachment proceeding is one that is sui generis, or class on its own, in
which the standards to be applied are circumscribed only by the Constitution and the oath under which the
senators have sworn to do impartial justice.

28. What are the consequences of a decision of conviction?

A conviction results in the removal from oce and disqualication to hold any oce under the Republic of
the Philippines. Likewise, the party convicted shall be liable and subject to prosecution, trial and
punishment according to law.

29. Does resignation end the impeachment process?

No. The purpose of impeachment is not merely to remove an ocer from oce but also to disqualify him
or her from holding any oce. The use of the conjunction and in the Constitution signies that
disqualication is not merely an accessory penalty, as in criminal cases, but a principal penalty apart from
that of removal. It can be said that in an impeachment proceeding, removing the ocer impeached is just
as important as preventing him or her from holding any oce under the republic.

30. Can the Senate impose a penalty of censure?

Yes. Since judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from oce and
disqualication, the Senate can decide to impose a lesser penalty, like censure or reprimand.

31. Can the Senate compel the ocer impeached to appear in person and/or answer the charges?

No. If the person impeached shall fail to appear, or, appearing, shall fail to le his answer, the trial shall
proceed nevertheless as upon a plea of not guilty.

32. Can the ocer impeached assert his right against self-incrimination?

Yes. The ocer impeached, like any other citizen, enjoys the constitutional right against self-incrimination.

33. In case the President is convicted, who succeeds to the Oce of the President?

The Vice President, who automatically becomes the President, succeeds.

34. Should the Chief Justice be convicted, who will replace him?

Upon conviction, the Chief Justice is removed from oce. The President shall assign a new Chief Justice and
a new Associate Justice to ll the vacancies.

35. Is the remedy of appeal available against the judgment of the Senate?

Generally, no. The judgment of the Senate is a political decision which may not be reviewed by the courts.

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15 Comments Inquirer Opinion "

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UnoangPilipino

4 years ago
the trigger rallying people to IMPEACH Corona is the TRO bruhaha, we must remember, there were 8
OF THEM who signed the TRO! 8 coronarroyo court injustices WHO BETRAYED THE FILIPINO
PUBLIC TRUST! ALL OF THEM MUST BE REMOVED, PUNISHED AND MADE TO ANSWER FOR
THIS UNFORGIVEABLE CRIME! And we must not forget Marquez who unashamedly lied, (and
continuous to do so), in front of eagerly listening Filipino people on what these injustices say or do.
harap harapan ang pambabastos, pambababoy nila, it was like treating the Filipinos like idiots who
cannot distinguish white from black. They were LITERALLY PLAYING ON THE COMPLETE TRUST
BESTOWED TO THEM BY VIRTUE OF THE HONORABLE POSITION AS SUPREME JUSTICES OF
THE LAND! THAT IS A CRIME IN ITSELF, NOT FORGETTING TO MENTION THE MANY
FLIPFLOPPING DECISIONS THEY HAVE MADE! enough is enough, we must never ever make the
mistake of putting fools in place of wise and just men in OUR, not coronarroyo scam company court,
OUR PHILIPPINE SUPREME COURT.
1

UnoangPilipino

4 years ago
i do not understand why media do not expose all these INJUSTICES committed by dummies and
criminals acting as justices in the coronarroyo court! they are criminals since they do not provide
justice the Filipino people truly deserve and instead cowtow to whoever who can give the better
bribe, worse, they are using the respected institutions and much needed resources occupying the
oces reserved to honorable Filipinos with integrity and who can serve the Filipino's BEST
INTEREST.
0
except that the standards of proof that rules of court require for conviction do not necessarily apply in
an impeachment proceeding. This legal question was raised during the 1973 Nixon impeachment.
The US Supreme court held that the US constitution does not require that rules of court have
to be followed, and congress and the senate can write their own procedural rules of impeachment.
0

Minimize

4 years ago
for the benefit of the people, p.noy should look into alleged active attempts by these justices of the
supreme court, led by ABAD, DEL CASTILLO, NACHURA (now retired), DE CASTRO and BERSAMIN,
to destroy and skew jurisprudence by coming out with their own decisions in labor cases that will
pave the way for a virtual reversal of the decision in the PAL-FASAP case.

there are rumors going around in the courts that these justices have come out with their own
decisions DISREGARDING the mandatory labor code provisions requiring the payment of full
backwages to illegally dismissed employees. to make things more simple, these justices are said
to have issued recent and current decisions where they disregarded the payment of FULL backwages
in illegal dismissal cases, in spite of the labor code's clear provision that mandates the payment of
FULL BACKWAGES WITHOUT QUALIFICATION, EVEN WHEN THE EMPLOYEE HAS FOUND
NEW EMPLOYMENT IN THE MEANTIME.

for those who know, when an employee is illegally dismissed and files a labor case, a decision in his
favor should include a judgment for the payment of FULL BACKWAGES, EVEN IF HE HAS ALREADY
FOUND EMPLOYMENT IN THE MEANTIME, AS LONG AS THE LABOR CASE REMAINS PENDING
AND UNTIL HE IS FULLY PAID HIS BACKWAGES AND OTHER BENEFITS. this is what the law
mandates. what these conspiring justices are doing is to slowly, systematically and quietly reverse
this settled principle of paying full backwages even to those who have found employment, through
see more
their own decisions in earlier cases. for the benefit of their patron tan and other big business
interests, they are now actively working towards limiting recovery and payment of backwages, in the
1 only to those who have not found work after being illegally dismissed. this is illegal and
fasap case,
has no statutory basis. it directly goes against the labor code provisions, and is also a crime against
their veryUnoangPilipino
oath. > Minimize

4 years ago
these
thisclever
is whatrobed
media'respectables' will now
must do, expose the use their very
decisions own justice
of each PREVIOUSLY issued/
in important cases and expose
promulgated
their assetsdecisions as theand
and liabilities basis
anyfor amending wealth!
unexplained the pal-fasap
makedecision awarding about
a full documentary P3 justices
of these billion to
thesoillegally dismissed
the people fasap employees.
can decide what goes tothey will now
whom! declarewho
and decide that stays
ONLYandTHOSE
goesWHO
in theHAVE NOT
Philippine
FOUND
Supreme WORK WHILE THE ILLEGAL DISMISSAL CASE WAS PENDING shall be entitled to full
court!
backwages. for THOSE WHO HAVE FOUND WORK DURING THE PENDENCY OF THE CASE, they
0
will not be entitled to full backwages, but to compensation only up to the time that they have found
new work. now imagine, who among the 1,000+ fasap employees have no work from 1997 up to
today?Rodolfo Fermin
maybe only a few. and only this few will be entitled to full backwages. get the point?

4 years ago
in the end,the
Shouldn't thistitle
means that even though
be "Impeachment no reversal of the main decision is made, the backwages
of Dummies"?
paid to the pitiful FASAP employees will be severely reduced by maybe more than two thirds, at
1 by
least. applying their decisions in other cases which skirted the labor code, and which passed and
were approved by the dierent divisions of the court unnoticed by the public, this will surely happen.
Tim3rd
this clearly illustrates how these "justices" have abused their powers and how they have destroyed,

and are 4 years ago our very own future right under our noses. this is a clear betrayal of public trust. it
destroying,
could
An eyeeven be the
opening subject
article. of economic
I noticed sabotage,
that nowhere to charge
in this theseitpeople
article does say thatwith
theaExecutive
capital oense and
can usurp
mete
the life imprisonment,
independence of thefor causingcourt
supreme the suering of thousands
or undermine of rank Itand
its sovereignty. file employees
clearly states that and
an selling
out their interests
impeachment just to protect
proceeding tan andfrom
is to remove other big businesses.
oce these
a public servant people must
(individual) be the
which impeached and
states finds
imprisoned.
culpable of violating the constitution and/or crimes against the state and its people. Whether guilt is
proven or not remains on the oce presiding the proceeding.
3

montanoarchie > Tim3rd

4 years ago
So , Whats Your POINT ?
0

Tim3rd > montanoarchie

4 years ago
my point is an impeachment is not an attack. Rather it is a due process on an individual found
faulty or accountable where as he is given a chance to answer allegations against him and not a
hostile takeover against a co-equal branch of government. From what I understand of Mr.
Coronas statement he is claiming that an impeachment is an attack on him ergo an attack on
the supreme court. If you follow his logic, then he is claiming to be the supreme court itself as a
whole. He is claiming that he is the Philippine constitution itself. He is claiming that he is a
representation of our Civil Liberties and an attack on him is an attack on the Filipino people.
0
 impeach the Justices if both Congress and Senate are controlled by those in power.
0

PobrengBata > mirage2004

4 years ago
Beholden, as in Corona beholden to Arroyo???
0

Ohmar Zodiac Culang > PobrengBata

4 years ago
then it will be Aquino Dog as a replacement...
0

Juice Amanamin > Ohmar Zodiac Culang

4 years ago
So you admit that crown is the little girl's dog?
0

taga_ilog > Juice Amanamin

4 years ago
it has been and will always be...
1

Gene_Abril

4 years ago
The bottom line is: It's all in numbers. How many "ayes" and "nays". Arroyo could not be impeached
during her time because she had the "numbers", not because she did not violate her mandate.
0

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