By Gabriel Kim Leal
(February 16, 2025) – The Supreme Court is being asked to compel the Senate to convene now as an impeachment court to begin the trial of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte-Carpio.
According to a report from the Philippine Star, a lawyer, Atty. Catalino Generillo Jr,. filed a petition for mandamus last Friday, arguing that the upper chamber has a constitutional duty to act on the impeachment case “immediately.”
“In the final analysis, the Constitution does not allow the Senate to procrastinate during the period it is in recess, whether it shall constitute itself into an impeachment court and try the vice president,” wrote Generillo in the plea.
He pointed to a provision in the 1987 Constitution stating that when the House of Representatives has endorsed an impeachment complaint, the “trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.”
He emphasized that “forthwith” means “immediately,” “without delay,” and “promptly.”
The lower chamber, with 215 lawmakers voting in favor, impeached Duterte-Carpio on February 5. The articles of impeachment were transmitted to the Senate, which then adjourned without discussing the matter.
Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero has refused to call for a special session for Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial. He said they will begin the hearing after Pres. Bongbong Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address in July.
“If it were so, the framers of the Constitution wrote a useless provision. Woe to the so-called doctrine of supremacy of the Constitution,” added Generillo.
Duterte-Carpio is facing charges of high crimes, including plotting to assassinate Marcos, allegedly misusing over P612 million worth of confidential funds, and other constitutional violations.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez and his allies are rumored to be behind the impeachment push against Duterte-Carpio. Romualdez is a cousin of Marcos, whom Duterte-Carpio has been warring with since last year.
(PM)
Our Privacy Commitment
TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.
We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.
Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?
We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:
Where do we get your personal information?
There are several ways we collect your personal information.
Information that you personally provided.
Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
Information we collect during your engagement with us
We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
Information we collect from other sources
Other means of collection of information may be through:
When do we disclose personal information?
There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.
We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.
In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.
How we protect your personal information
The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.
We also put in effect the following safeguards:
TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.
What are your choices?
We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.
If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.
Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph
What happens when there are changes in our Policy?
From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.
You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.