House prosecutors divide work on Sara impeachment trial
The House of Representatives has divided its designated prosecutors into separate groups to present their evidence in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, chair of the House committee on justice, said in an online interview on Friday said that Manila Rep. Joel Chua will now handle the preparations for Article I in the Articles of Impeachment, which deals with Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds lodged in her office.
Article II charges the vice president with culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust concerning unexplained wealth, discrepancies in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth and failure to divest from business interests during her incumbency. The article will be led by Reps. Terry Ridon and Chel Diokno.
Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores has been named to lead the team assigned to Article III, or Duterte’s alleged bribery of Department of Education (DepEd) officials.
Reps. Lorenz Defensor and Leila de Lima will lead the team on Article IV, which involves culpable violation of the Constitution, high crimes and betrayal of public trust stemming from her November 2024 statement that she had contracted an assassin to kill President Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez, alongside charges of inciting sedition.
“We made a little adjustment regarding the assignments of team leaders. We resolved that I should be focusing on being the lead prosecutor and that is why I yielded to Cong. Keith Flores as one of the new leaders of these articles,” Luistro told reporters covering the House.
General manager
Luistro explained that while she is still involved in preparations regarding all four grounds in the Articles of Impeachment, she has to focus on other matters related to the impeachment.
Aside from these minor changes, Luistro said the prosecution team is in the thick of preparations for Duterte’s trial, which is expected to begin by July 6.
Duterte was impeached for a second time by the House last May 11, after 257 lawmakers voted in favor of adopting House Resolution No. 989, which contains four Articles of Impeachment.
However, Duterte’s trial has not started yet, as pretrial proceedings have to be completed. Last May 18, the Senate convened itself as an impeachment court, giving Duterte 10 calendar days to respond to the Articles of Impeachment.
The deadline will be on May 31, but since it falls on a Sunday, Duterte is allowed until Monday, June 1, to file her reply. The prosecution will be given five calendar days to counter Duterte’s reply.
Different sources, like Sen. Erwin Tulfo, have told the media that the trial proper would start on July 6, and would be held every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 2 p.m. onward.
Bring it to the people
Earlier, Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V admitted that several lawmakers from the House of Representatives have started bringing discussions on Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial to their respective constituents, in what appears to be a new battleground for the prosecution side.
Ortega said in a separate statement that a team composed of different lawmakers, including himself, went back to their districts to “help people understand the impeachment.”
According to Ortega, there was a consensus among lawmakers that the strategy needed a change, particularly on the location of the information campaign – that instead of press briefings being held in Metro Manila, it may be better to have these engagements “closer to home.”
With still over a month to go before the trial proper, several lawmakers have raised concerns about the possibility of misinformation and disinformation affecting the proceedings.
Ortega said this issue of misinformation and disinformation, coupled with the people’s yearning for a trial, is another reason why going back to the grassroots appears necessary.
******
Get real-time news updates: inqnews.net/inqviber
