Dear PAO,

Lately, all I can see in the late-night television news is the so-called impeachment complaint. I am just curious; can you file an impeachment proceeding against any elected officers in the Philippines? What are the grounds that may trigger the initiation of such complaint? Can impeachable officers be removed by any other methods?

Paolo

Dear Paolo,

No, you cannot file an impeachment complaint against any elected officials in the Philippines. To be legally specific, impeachment is not meted out to every elected public officer but rather is a constitutional tool that enables us to hold selected high-ranking public officials to the highest standards of accountability.

Section 2, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution states that only the President, the Vice President, the members of the Supreme Court, the members of the Constitutional Commissions (Commission on Elections, Commission on Audit, and Civil Service Commission), and the Ombudsman may be removed from office through an impeachment proceeding. Additionally, the only grounds for impeachment of these officers are as follows: conviction of culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, and betrayal of public trust. All other public officers not mentioned therein may be removed from office as provided by law, but not by impeachment.

Traditionally, impeachment was thought to be the sole mode of removing these so-called impeachable officers enumerated above. However, in the landmark case of Republic of the Philippines v. Sereno, GR 237428, May 11, 2018, Ponente: Justice Noel Tijam, the Supreme Court explained that:

“Underlying all constitutional provisions on government service is the principle that public office is a public trust. The people, therefore, have the right to have only qualified individuals appointed to public office. To construe Section 2, Article XI of the Constitution as proscribing a quo warranto petition is to deprive the State of a remedy to correct a public wrong arising from defective or void appointments. Equity, however, will not suffer a wrong to be without remedy. It stands to reason, therefore, that quo warranto should be available to question the validity of appointments especially of impeachable officers since they occupy the upper echelons of government and are capable of wielding vast power and influence on matters of law and policy.”

Thus, considering that every public office is created and conferred by law, impeachable officers may also be removed through quo warranto proceedings if they are not legally qualified to hold their appointive or elective positions. Qualification should always precede power and authority, and thus, election or appointment to a position cannot override the basic qualification requirements of a public office.We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice was based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.

We appreciate your trust and support.

Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to [email protected]