Public Accountabilites

PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITIES

RECALL OF LOCAL ELECTIVE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

The President, the Vice President, the members of the Supreme Court, the Members of the Constitutional Commission, and the Ombudsman may 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. (Article XI Sec 2) Underscoring mine.

Premised on the legal maxim, Expressio unius est exclusio alterus. (What are not included are deemed excluded.) The underlined last sentence or Art. XI, Sec. 2 means that all other officers not specifically mentioned are excluded. Thus, they may be removed by recall or may be sanctioned by expulsion or suspension, but not by impeachment.

For the elective local government officials, Chapter IV, SEC 60 of the Local Government Code of 1991 enumerates:

Grounds for Disciplinary Actions. An elective local official may be disciplined, suspended, or removed from office on any of the following grounds:

A. Disloyalty to the Republic of the Philippines;

B. Culpable violation of the Constitution;

C. Dishonesty, oppression, misconduct in office, gross negligence, or dereliction of duty;

D. Commission of any offensive involving moral turpitude or an offense punishable by at least prison mayor;

E. Abuse of authority;

F. Unauthorized absence for fifteen (15) consecutive working days, except in the case of members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Sangguniang Panlungsod, Sangguniang Bayan, and Sangguniang Baranggay;

G. Application for, or acquisition of, foreign citizenship or residence or the status of an immigrant of another country; and,

H. Such other grounds as many as may be provided in this Code and other laws. An elective local official may be removed from the office on the arrounds enumerated above by order of the proper court.

The counterpart of impeachment of public officials specifically enumerated in the Constitution is the process of Government Units (LGUs). Punishments are either suspension or removal from office through an election recall.

Recall is a process of removing elective local government officials initiated and undertaken by the electorate in the Local Government Unit (LGU) concerned. When an elective public official is subjected to a recall election and wins. It shall give him fresh mandate from the local government unit that he serves, or if he loses in the election recall, he shall be removed by installing the winner in his stead. This is done to replace an LGU elective official who loses the trust and confidence of his constituents.

Initiation of the Recall Process

Recall may be initiated by a preparatory recall assembly or by the registered voters of the local government unit to which the local elective official subject to such recall belongs.

The Election on Recall

Election on Recall. Upon the filling of a valid resolution or petition for recall for the appropriate local office of the Comelec, the Commission or its duty authorized representative shall set the date of the election on recall, which shall not be later than thirty (30) days after the filling of the resolution or petition for recall in the case of the baranggay, city, or municipal officials, and forty-five (45) days in the case of provincial officials.

Effectivity of Recall. The recall of an elective local official shall be effective only if upon the election and proclamation of a successor in the person of the candidate receiving the highest number of votes cast during the election on recall.

Prohibition from Resignation. The elective local official sought to be recalled shall not be allowed to resign while the recall process is in the progress.

Limitations on Recall. Any elective local official may be the subject of a recall election only once during his term of office for loss of confidence.

IMPEACHMENT

Impeachment is the exercise of an extra ordinary power exclusively vested by the Constitution where Member of the House of Representatives has the sole authority to initiate the proceeding, and the Senate the exclusive power to try: to convict or to acquit the impeached public official.

The Impeachment Tribunal: Quasi- Criminal Body

When constituted as impeachment tribunal, the body assumes the features of a quasi civil, criminal, political, and judicial body. Quasi [kway zi] means almost but not quite. It means therefore, that in some ways, the tribunal resembles criminal, civil, political, and judicial body but not exactly the same.

The Impeachment Tribunal as Quasi- Political Body

An impeachment tribunal is a quasi- political body because the numbers game plays a vital role in the Impeachment proceeding. Political partisanship is inevitable, and it is most likely that political party interest prevails. Senators- juniors tend to be partisan and may not assume the impersonal, cool, and neutral deportment that an ordinary Member of a judicial body should be. The strong influence of a party in power can stop the proceeding before it may formally start for want of a required number votes.

Grounds for Impeachment

The following are grounds for impeachment:

culpable violation of the Constitution;

treason;

bribery;

graft and corruption;

other high crimes; and,

betrayal of public trust.

The Two Stages of Impeachment

The First Stage: Initiating Impeachment in the House of Representatives

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