President Rodrigo Duterte’s chief legal counsel on Monday described as “pure nonsense” the proposal to make the Chief Executive a special prosecutor in the impeachment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Lawyer Salvador Panelo said the proposal of lawyer Larry Gadon, complainant in the impeachment case against Sereno, was unconstitutional.

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“The proposal to make the President act as Special Prosecutor in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno is pure nonsense,” Panelo said in a statement.

The President, he said, “is constitutionally prohibited to hold any other office during his tenure.”

“Even assuming that there is no prohibition, such position diminishes the office of the presidency and departs from his functions and duties as mandated by the Constitution,” he said.

Gadon on Saturday said there was no law barring Duterte to participate in a political exercise like the impeachment.

Panelo said Gadon may only wanted “to insure the success of his impeachment complaint knowing [Duterte’s] rich experience as a public prosecutor.”

“In his zeal to pursue his impeachment complaint again the Chief Justice he overlooked the fact that the preposition is constitutionally challenged by virtue of an express provision prohibiting the President from holding another position during his tenure of office,” he said.

Panelo said the “the House of Representatives has the exclusive power to initiate all kinds of impeachment hence its members are tasked to prosecute the impeachable officers in impeachment trial in the Senate.”

“As he has repeatedly said he respects the independence of the two co-equal branches of the government and he will never interfere with their constitutional functions. In his prime task of executing all the laws of the land and preserving and defending the Constitution he shall make sure that such independence is upheld,” he said. /je

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