THE House of Representatives’ prosecution team for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has appealed to the Senate to reconsider the trial’s tentative July 6 timetable.
“In our view, July 6 is kind of far off. The Constitution is very clear that the impeachment trial shall proceed forthwith,” Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, one of the spokesmen of the prosecutors, said in Filipino and English on Wednesday.
“The Senate has every right to prepare, but we also hope the process moves as promptly as possible in the interest of public accountability and public trust,” he said.
Also, Alonto Adiong appreciated the minority senators opposing the proposal to allow online participation in the Senate’s plenary sessions.
“We fully respect the Senate as an independent institution, but we strongly believe that impeachment proceedings require personal presence, personal accountability and full attention from every senator-judge,” Alonto Adiong said.
“There is no... extraordinary situation today that will justify online participation, especially while the impeachment trial is nearing,” Alonto Adiong said.
“We appreciate those who stood firm in defending the integrity and solemnity of the institution and the impeachment process. It is important that the public’s trust for our institutions is maintained,” he said.
“This is not an ordinary period in the Senate. Once senators sit as judges in an impeachment court, the Filipino people expect them to be physically present, listening to the evidence and personally performing that constitutional duty,” he said.
“Impeachment carries enormous constitutional and historical weight. Personal attendance reflects the seriousness, transparency and accountability expected from every senator-judge,” he said.
On May 12, the House elected the following as impeachment prosecutors: Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon, 1-Rider Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez, San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora, Iloilo 3rd District Rep. Lorenz Defensor, Akbayan Rep. Jose Manuel Diokno, Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima, Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao, Bukidnon 2nd District Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores, Cagayan de Oro 1st District Rep. Lordan Suan and Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua.
This was after the House, voting 257-25 with nine abstentions, impeached Duterte on May 11 over alleged misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth allegedly amassed, alleged bribery and her statement about hiring someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. if she herself was killed.
On May 13, the House sent the articles of impeachment to the Senate.
Duterte has a June 1 deadline to file her answer to the impeachment articles. Her defense team has said it will comply.
Duterte denied the allegations in the two complaints heard by the Luistro-led House Committee on Justice, but did not attend the hearings. The committee on April 29 found probable cause to impeach her and sent the impeachment articles to the House plenary for action.
The impeachment articles seek Duterte’s removal from office and lifetime ban from any government position.
The impeachment proceedings center on two primary sets of charges: misuse of public funds, and threats and security violations.
