THE House Prosecution Team has announced the first 10 private prosecutors that will join them in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a press briefing on Thursday, lead prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro announced the inclusion of lawyers Lorna Kapunan, Amando Ligutan, Marforth Pua, Erwin Matib, Justine Lamarca, James Bryan Alih, Sonya Margarita Castillo, Deana Melissa Singian, Lino Chris Kapunan and Bettina Zamora.
Pua is a managing partner at Pecabar Law Firm and former assistant presidential legal counsel of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., while Kapunan, a noted litigator, is a senior partner of the Kapunan and Castillo Law Offices. Ligutan is a managing partner of Saligal (Sapayan, Lim, Alvarez and Ligutan) Law Office and a senior lecturer of the University of the Philippines College of Law.
Luistro said the services of the private prosecutors are provided pro bono and that the addition of private prosecutors has strengthened the prosecution’s preparations for the impeachment proceedings.
“We are more confident than before because of the presence of the private prosecutors,” Luistro said.
She added that the lawyers bring expertise in criminal prosecution, graft and corruption cases, white-collar crime, labor law, environmental law, family law, taxation, commercial litigation and dispute resolution.
The lawyers, Luistro said, will assist in preparing witnesses, evidence, pleadings and other legal requirements for the proceedings before the Senate impeachment court.
House Prosecutor and Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno said the participation of private prosecutors follows a long-standing tradition in major impeachment proceedings, noting that he himself served as a volunteer prosecutor during the impeachment trial of former president Joseph Estrada.
The private lawyers, Diokno added, would help the prosecution team navigate the extensive work involved in preparing and presenting an impeachment case.
“The work of a prosecutor is not easy. There is so much that needs to be done in terms of witnesses, evidence and exhibits — ensuring that all the evidence we present is admitted by the court,” Diokno added.
Luistro and Diokno clarified that the private prosecutors will serve in an assisting capacity and will be under the direction of the House prosecution panel.
The House Justice Committee chairman said the lawyers joined the prosecution effort as they share a “commitment to transparency, accountability and the Constitution.”
“What is important today is to express to the public that the private lawyers who are with us share with the House prosecutors the cause of bringing this case to the impeachment trial and until the rendition of judgment,” Luistro said.
Luistro said that more lawyers are expected to join the prosecution team in the coming days.
Kapunan acknowledged that she is committing her and her law firm’s time to assist the public prosecutors in what she believes is their “worthwhile cause.”
“This is a crusade since last year... This is a continuation of our crusade. This is not about us public and private prosecutors, this is about all of you, this is about the country, this is about public officials being called to task on their accountability to the Constitution and the people,” Kapunan said.
The prosecution team will be up against Duterte’s defense team led by Sigfried Fortun, Gregorio Narvasa II and Shiela Sison of Fortun, Narvasa and Salazar Law Office, as well as private lawyers including former Education Undersecretary Michael Wesley Poa, who will serve as the team’s spokesman
