3. Impeachment

Removal from Office

1987 CONST., art. XI, sec. 2

> SECTION 2. The President, the Vice-President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the Members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed from office, on impeachment for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust. All other public officers and employees may be removed from office as provided by law, but not by impeachment.

The following public officials may only be removed from office through IMPEACHMENT:

• President
• Vice-President
• Members of the Supreme Court
• Members of the Constitutional Commissions
• Ombudsman

Grounds for Impeachment:

• culpable violation of the Constitution
• Treason
• Bribery
• Graft and corruption
• Other high crimes
• Betrayal of public trust

10-3-60-10 Rule

• 10 days: a verified complaint for impeachment must be included in the Order of Business within 10 session days;
• 3 days: after the lapse of the 10 days, the complaint must be referred to a Committee within 3 session days;
• 60 days: The Committee, after hearing, and by a majority vote of all its Members, shall submit its report to the House within sixty session days from such referral;
• 10 days: The resolution shall be calendared for consideration by the House within ten session days from receipt thereof.

IMPEACHMENT

The power of Congress to remove a public official for serious crimes or misconduct as provided in the Constitution. It is a mechanism designed to check abuse of power. (Chief Justice Renato C. Corona v. Senate of the Philippines sitting as an Impeachment Court, G.R. No. 200242, 2012) See discussion in Part V (H)(2)(b)

There is another reason why the complaint for disbarment here must be dismissed. Members of the Supreme Court must, under Article VIII (7) (1) of the Constitution, be members of the Philippine Bar and, if validly appointed, may be removed from office only by impeachment (Article XI [2], Constitution). To grant a complaint for disbarment of a Member of the Court during the Member's incumbency, would in effect be to circumvent and hence to run afoul of the constitutional mandate that Members of the Court may be removed from office only by impeachment for and conviction of certain offenses listed in Article XI (2) of the Constitution. Quo warranto remains available to challenge a Member's void appointment for failure to meet constitutional qualifications. (Republic v. Sereno, G.R. No. 237428, May 11, 2018) The Ombudsman is impeachable; Deputy Ombudsmen are not and may be removed as provided by law. (In Re Gonzales, A.M. No. 88-4-5433 April 15, 1988)

Limitations on Pardon

• Cannot be granted for impeachment [Section 19, Article VII, 1987 Constitution]
• Cannot be granted in cases of violation of election laws without the favorable recommendation of the COMELEC [Section 5, Article IX-C, 1987 Constitution]
• Can be granted only after conviction by final judgment [People v. Salle, G.R. No. 103567 (1995)].

Section 19, Article VII prohibits the grant of pardon whether full or conditional, to an accused during the pendency of his appeal from his conviction by the trial court. Any application therefore should not be acted upon or the process toward its grant should not be begun unless the appeal is withdrawn [People v. Bacang, G.R. No. 116512 (1996)].

• Cannot absolve the convict of civil liability [People v. Nacional, G.R. Nos. 111294-95 (1995)]
• Cannot be granted to cases of legislative contempt or civil contempt. Cannot restore public offices forfeited, even if pardon restores the eligibility for said offices [Monsanto v. Factoran, G.R. No. 78239 (1989)].

However, if a pardon is given because he did not commit the crime, reinstatement and back wages would be due [Garcia v. COA, G.R. No. L-75025 (1993)].

A pardon may restore eligibility to seek elective office, depending on its terms and applicable election law. Under Article 36 of the Revised Penal Code, the rights to hold public office and to vote are not restored unless expressly restored by the pardon [Risos-Vidal v. COMELEC, G.R. No. 206666 (2015)].

It is an exclusive list. Congress cannot add to the list of impeachable offenses.

Impeachable officers may be removed from office through impeachment and conviction; a void appointment may be challenged separately. An impeachment judgment does not bar subsequent prosecution, trial, and punishment according to law. (1987 Constitution, Art. XI, Secs. 2 and 3(7); Republic v. Sereno, G.R. No. 237428, May 11, 2018)

Resignation by an impeachable official does not place him beyond the reach of impeachment proceedings; he can still be impeached.

Other public officers and employees -

They may be removed from office as provided by law but not by impeachment.

Effects of impeachment: (LDR)

• Removal from office of the official concerned
• Disqualification to hold any office under the Republic of the Philippines may also be imposed in the impeachment judgment (1987 Constitution, Art. XI, Sec. 3(7)).
• Officer still Liable to prosecution, trial, and punishment if the impeachable offense committed also constitutes a felony or crime.

The determination of sufficiency of form and substance of an impeachment complaint is an exponent of the express constitutional grant of rule-making powers of the House of Representatives. In the discharge of that power and in the exercise of its discretion, the House has formulated determinable standards as to the form and substance of an impeachment complaint. Furthermore, the Impeachment Rules are clear in echoing the constitutional requirements and providing that there must be a "verified complaint or resolution,” and that the substance requirement is met if there is "a recital of facts constituting the offense charged and determinative of the jurisdiction of the committee.” Questions on what constitutes as an impeachable offense are considered to be purely political questions and thus left to the sound determination of the legislature. (Gutierrez v. House Committee on Justice, G.R. 193459, 2011).