UST Law Review

INTRICACIES OF THE IMPEACHMENT PROCESS
By: Janice Ayson

Abstract

In the Philippines, the process of impeaching a public officer is relatively new, since only
recently has the country's annals recorded two landmark impeachment cases. This article gives the readers a brief historical background of the impeachment process and its development in the Philippines. It also discusses the nature of impeachment proceedings; what are the impeachable offenses; who are impeachable officers and the procedural steps in impeaching a public officer in the context of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

The article likewise makes a discussion on the conflict between judicial power to review
impeachment cases which arise from the power to impeach solely vested with the legislative branch of government. In this connection, the two recent impeachment cases in the Philippines were tackled: the 2001 President Estrada Impeachment and the 2003 Chief Justice Davide Impeachment. The article talks about the effects of these two significant events and how they influenced the concept of impeachment in the Philippine political and legal system.