Prosecuting an impeachable official

In fact, what it amounts to is a violation of the equal protection of the laws, for while all other officials — such as the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff — may be criminally prosecuted, arrested and tried while in office, why should members of the constitutional commissions, the Ombudsman and even the vice president be immune from prosecution and arrest while in office? It is this 'constitutional superstition' that allows them to act with impunity because such 'impeachable officials' can always count on the fragility of memory, the power of erasure and public forgetfulness to be able to get away with wrongdoing. It is time to get rid of this 'constitutional superstition' that impeachable officials should first be removed by the tedious — almost impossible — process of impeachment before they can be prosecuted. How much does it cost to hold an impeachment trial — and why should we spend that amount to rid ourselves of an unfit, dishonest, thieving or treacherous high official of government? What Article XI provides is: 'SECTION 2. The President, the Vice President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the Members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman may be 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.' 'May be removed' — and last I checked, 'may' in law is permissive. They may be removed from office on impeachment. But how does that translate into exemption from prosecution, arrest and trial while in office? Were a Comelec commissioner to shoot a fellow commissioner in cold blood, would it be required to require the House of Representatives to file the articles of impeachment after the lengthy process recently prescribed by the Supreme Court in the Duterte case, and then have the Senate convene as a court of impeachment before he can be prosecuted for murder, arrested and tried? Surely, the Constitution could not have contemplated such an absurd scheme of accountability! [email protected] [email protected]