*Dr. Rodolfo John Ortiz Teope, PhD, EdD, DM
“Dapat bang abogado ang mamuno sa impeachment court?”
Habang pinapakinggan ko ang bawat argumento, bigla akong napaisip.
Baka mali ang tanong nating lahat.
Perhaps the better question is not whether the presiding officer is a lawyer.
Perhaps the better question is this.
Who can best preserve the integrity of the impeachment court and strengthen the confidence of the Filipino people in one of the most sacred constitutional processes of our democracy?
The more I reflected on that question, the more I realized that the Constitution has never been protected by professions alone.
It has always been protected by people of integrity.
Kung gusto talaga ng ating Constitutional Commission na abogado lamang ang maaaring mamuno sa impeachment court, napakadali sana nilang isinulat iyon sa ating Constitution. Ngunit hindi nila ginawa. I believe that omission was intentional. The framers understood that constitutional leadership cannot be measured solely by professional titles. It must also be measured by fairness, wisdom, institutional maturity, sound judgment, and the courage to place the Republic above politics.
That is the very essence of constitutional democracy.
An impeachment trial is unlike any ordinary judicial proceeding. Hindi ito isang criminal case kung saan iisang hukom lamang ang magpapasya. It is a constitutional process entrusted to the Senate, where every senator becomes an impeachment judge. Every senator hears the evidence. Every senator evaluates the constitutional arguments. Every senator casts an independent vote according to the Constitution, the evidence presented, and his or her own conscience.
The presiding officer performs a different responsibility.
He preserves order.
He recognizes motions.
He ensures that both parties are heard.
He protects due process.
Most importantly, he safeguards the dignity of the institution while allowing the Senate itself to exercise its collective constitutional judgment.
That distinction is important because the strength of an impeachment court has never depended upon one individual.
Its strength has always rested upon the integrity of the institution.
History has repeatedly reminded us of this truth.
The impeachment trial of former President Joseph Estrada forever changed Philippine politics. The impeachment of former Chief Justice Renato Corona tested the delicate balance between law and politics. The constitutional controversy involving former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno reminded us that institutions are judged not only by the decisions they render but by the fairness and credibility of the process that produces those decisions.
Looking back, history rarely remembers every legal argument.
History remembers whether our institutions became stronger or weaker after every constitutional crisis.
Perhaps that is why today’s impeachment proceedings carry a weight far greater than the fate of one public official.
The Filipino people are quietly asking themselves one simple question.
Can we still trust our institutions?
For me, that question is far more important than asking whether the presiding officer carries the title “Attorney.”
This is where Senator Sherwin Gatchalian deserves thoughtful consideration.
Not because he is the only qualified senator.
Not because he is perfect.
But because, over the years, he has cultivated the reputation of a legislator who values preparation over spectacle, governance over grandstanding, and public policy over political theater.
His years in local government, the House of Representatives, and the Senate have given him extensive experience in legislative deliberations, committee investigations, constitutional discussions, and parliamentary procedures. Those experiences may not make him a lawyer, but they have certainly prepared him to preside over difficult proceedings with discipline, restraint, and fairness.
There is another reason why I believe Senator Gatchalian deserves serious consideration.
The discussion should not revolve solely around legal education.
It should also consider mastery of legislative procedure.
An impeachment court is not merely a legal proceeding.
It is a Senate proceeding governed by constitutional principles, Senate rules, parliamentary traditions, and institutional discipline.
Philippine legislative history reminds us that mastery of legislative rules has never been the exclusive domain of lawyers.
One of the finest examples is former Senate President Tito Sotto.
Despite not being a lawyer, he earned enormous respect from colleagues across political lines because of his extraordinary command of parliamentary rules, legislative procedure, and floor management. Throughout his years as Senate President, he demonstrated that effective leadership of the Senate depends not merely on legal education but on institutional wisdom, fairness, decisiveness, and a profound understanding of the Senate as an institution.
Personally, if not for the present political dynamics involving Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and the realities surrounding the current composition of the Senate, I would even consider former Senate President Tito Sotto as one of the strongest personalities to preside over an impeachment court despite not being a lawyer. His mastery of Senate rules alone would have inspired tremendous public confidence in the fairness of the proceedings.
It is from that same perspective that I now look at Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.
What he brings to the table is not merely legislative experience.
What he brings is the possibility of strengthening the institutional credibility of the impeachment court itself.
Justice must not only be done.
Justice must also be seen to be done.
Kapag ang taumbayan ay nagsimulang magduda sa proseso, kahit gaano pa kaganda ang magiging desisyon, mananatiling may agam agam ang publiko. The legitimacy of an impeachment court depends not only on the correctness of its rulings but also on the confidence of the people that every step of the process was conducted fairly, independently, and without undue political influence.
This observation should never be interpreted as a personal criticism of former Senate President Francis Escudero who recently joined the new majority. Every public servant deserves fairness, and every public official deserves the presumption that he will faithfully perform his constitutional responsibilities.
However, constitutional governance teaches us another equally important principle.
Institutions are judged not only by actual impartiality but also by the appearance of impartiality.
Whether fair or unfair, former Senate President Escudero has inevitably become part of various political narratives surrounding the present national situation. That reality is not necessarily of his own making. It simply comes with the office and the political environment in which he serves.
If there exists a constitutionally permissible way to further strengthen public confidence in the impeachment court, then I believe the Senate should seriously consider it.
For me, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian offers exactly that opportunity.
His greatest contribution may not be that he is a non lawyer.
His greatest contribution may be that his leadership could lend greater institutional integrity to the impeachment proceedings.
Because he has generally maintained a reputation for measured leadership, policy driven governance, and less polarizing public engagement, his designation as presiding officer could elevate the public perception that the Senate is placing institutional credibility above political personalities.
This is not about saying that one senator possesses more personal integrity than another.
This is about asking a far more important constitutional question.
Who can best strengthen the integrity of the institution?
Sometimes leadership is not about choosing the most popular person.
Sometimes it is not even about choosing the most legally trained person.
Sometimes leadership is about choosing the person whose presence gives the nation greater confidence that the process itself will remain fair, dignified, and worthy of public trust.
That, for me, is Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian’s greatest qualification.
One hundred years from now, I doubt history books will tell our grandchildren whether the presiding officer of the impeachment court was a lawyer or not.
History is never that interested in professional titles.
History remembers something far greater.
It remembers whether, at one of the most difficult moments of our democracy, the Senate had the courage to choose the path that strengthened public trust rather than political convenience.
If Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian is indeed the person who can best elevate the integrity, credibility, and public confidence of the impeachment court, then I believe the Senate should seriously consider entrusting him with that responsibility.
Because institutions are never protected by titles.
They are protected by integrity.
And when integrity leads, the Constitution wins.
When the Constitution wins, every Filipino wins with it.
#DJOT
________________________________________________________________
*About the author:
