MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 11 May) – In the event that the House of Representatives approves the impeachment complaint against her, Vice President Sara Duterte has two options – defend herself before the Senate sitting as an impeachment court, or resign before the House sends the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate for trial.

In case she chooses the second option, there may be no need for a trial as happened to the impeachment case against former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez during the presidency of the late Benigno S. Aquino III.

But what if Duterte leaves the Office of the Vice President while the trial is in progress if she senses that a conviction is more likely than an acquittal? This is where legal minds are split, as the Constitution doesn’t explicitly provide for this scenario.

One school of thought says that even if the Vice President quits while the trial is ongoing, the Senate should still finish the proceedings and hand down a verdict. Proponents of this position argue that the purpose of impeachment is to exact accountability from [impeached] officials and prevent them from staying further in office if found guilty of wrongdoing.

Of course, there are those who contradict this view, insisting that there’s no need to go on with the trial if the accused has resigned.

Impeachment, however, is considered sui generis, a class of its own, neither civil nor criminal in nature, but one whose outcome is determined by elected officials (senators) who are presumed by law to represent the true will of the people. This is what makes it a political process. In fact, it is not beholden to the “proof beyond reasonable doubt” standard being observed by the judiciary because the intent is not to punish but to prevent further harm to the state.

Moreover, regardless of what happened to the impeachment case against Gutierrez, there remains the possibility that lawmakers and others who are in favor of the impeachment would push to proceed with a trial even if Duterte resigns before the Articles of Impeachment are submitted to the Senate.

After all, different circumstances and motives define[d] the impeachment complaints against the former Ombudsman and the Vice President. And, this time, the stakes are higher, much higher.

(MIndaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. H. Marcos C. Mordeno can be reached at boymords@mindanews.com)