PROFESSORS FROM SAN Beda University’s (SBU) Graduate School of Law (GSoL) have called on the Senate to “uphold the Constitution”  by proceeding with the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte earlier today, June 6.

In a facebook post by GSoL Dean, Rev. Fr. Ranhilio Callangan Aquino, the professors, acting in their individual capacities, stressed that the Senate is required to proceed with the trial given the House of Representatives’ one-third endorsement of a verified impeachment complaint.

“There is no sound constitutional and legal basis for any delay in the trial.  In fact, an undue delay sends the signal to the nation that mandated processes are thwarted for ulterior ends,” the post read.

Moreover, they argued that there is no legal basis for the said delay, emphasizing that it could signal political interference and asserted that the trial is an essential “measure of accountability” and restoring public trust.

“The trial is a measure of accountability. The problem with government, and the resulting lack of public trust in it, has to do with deficits in measures of accountability,” they said.

The 12 signatories include Dean Rev. Fr. Aquino; former Supreme Court Associate Justices Adolf Azcuna and Jose Vitug; Rev. Msgr. Gary Famoso; Rev. Fr. Danilo Flores; Prof. Edmund Soriano Tayao; Dr. Jose Rufino Chong; Dr. Peter Ng; Dr. George Carmona; Dr. Cristina Montes; Rev. Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso; and Com. Linda Hornilla.

Sara Duterte, daughter of detained former President and San Beda alumnus Rodrigo Duterte, will face a Senate impeachment trial following her February 5 impeachment by the House over charges of public funds misuse, unexplained wealth, an alleged involvement in a murder plot, and betrayal of public trust.