OVP, kinumpirmang natanggap na ang summons mula sa Impeachment Court

- The Office of the Vice President (OVP) confirmed on Wednesday, June 11, that it has already received the formal writ of summons from the Senate impeachment court, requiring the Vice President’s response within a non-extendable 10-day period

- In an unexpected development on Tuesday, senator-judges voted to return the articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives, citing constitutional concerns regarding the articles themselves

- This decision by the Senate has introduced considerable uncertainty into the impeachment trial, effectively halting its immediate progression and placing any proposed trial calendars into an indeterminate state

- The onus is now on the House of Representatives to address the Senate’s constitutional concerns regarding the impeachment articles, leaving the future timeline and trajectory of Vice President Duterte's trial in question

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) officially confirmed on Wednesday, June 11, the receipt of the writ of summons issued by the Senate impeachment court, marking a formal step in the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.

The summons was served by the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms at the Vice President's office in Mandaluyong City at approximately 11:05 AM.

The writ of summons mandates Vice President Duterte to submit her official response to the articles of impeachment within a stringent and non-extendable period of 10 days from the date of receipt.

Following her submission, the House prosecutors are then directed to present their rejoinder to Duterte’s response within five days, adhering to the established procedural framework governing impeachment trials.

According to Article 7 of the Senate’s rules of procedure for impeachment trials, the issuance of such a summons to the impeached official is a standard step that follows the formal presentation of the articles of impeachment and the Senate's organization into an impeachment court.

This development follows the Senate’s pivotal session on Tuesday, where senators were formally sworn in as judges of the impeachment court.

During that session, a motion put forth by Senator Ronald dela Rosa, a staunch ally of Vice President Duterte, aimed at dismissing the impeachment case even before the court fully convened, was voted down.

However, a significant and unexpected turn of events occurred during Tuesday’s proceedings that has introduced considerable uncertainty into the impeachment trial.

Despite earlier procedural maneuvers, the senator-judges ultimately voted to return the articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives.

This unprecedented move was reportedly due to concerns raised regarding the constitutionality of the articles themselves.

The decision to send the impeachment articles back to the House is a critical development that directly impacts the immediate progression of the trial.

While the OVP has formally received the summons, which dictates the timeline for the Vice President's response, the very foundation upon which the trial was expected to proceed—the articles of impeachment—is now subject to further review by the House.

This action by the Senate signifies a challenge to the validity or form of the impeachment complaint as transmitted from the lower chamber.

This procedural hurdle has effectively placed the impeachment trial's calendar, including any previously proposed expedited schedules, into an indeterminate state.

The impeachment process, governed by stringent constitutional provisions, requires clarity and adherence to legal parameters from both the accusers in the House and the adjudicators in the Senate.

The Senate’s move to return the articles underscores the complex legal and political dynamics inherent in such high-stakes proceedings, emphasizing the ongoing scrutiny over the adherence to constitutional requirements.

The ball is now back in the court of the House of Representatives to address the concerns raised by the Senate, leaving the timeline and eventual trajectory of Vice President Duterte’s impeachment trial subject to further developments.

News, photos, or videos that arouse the interest of netizens would often go viral on social media, due to the attention netizens give them. These viral posts appeal to the emotions of netizens, and in rare cases, this could also happen to ordinary people, making them very relatable.

In other news, a 23-year-old rider suffered from a severed leg after he met an accident while driving his motorcycle. The incident, according to News5, happened in Lapu-Lapu, Cebu. The impact was so strong that the rider was thrown off from the site of impact several meters away. Aside from his severed leg, he also suffered from a broken left leg because of the impact from the accident.

Still in other news, a 21-year-old former student killed 10 people in a mass shooting at Dreierschuetzengasse High School in Graz, Austria, before taking his own life. Victims included seven females and three males, with a 17-year-old French student among the dead. Locals described the tragedy as "unheard of" in Graz, a city known for its safety and diversity. Austrian officials called it a "national tragedy," with condolences pouring in from leaders across Europe, including French President Emmanuel Macron.

Source: KAMI.com.gh