Members of the House of Representatives’ prosecution team on Wednesday said they will seek clarification from the Senate on its decision to remand the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Speaking at a press conference, lead prosecutor and House Minority Leader Rep. Marcelino Libanan defended the constitutionality of their case, citing “presumption of regularity.”
Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, however, emphasized that the prosecution welcomed the move under presiding judge Senate President Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero to finally convene the upper chamber as an impeachment court, making it clear that the Vice President will be tried.
As far as the House prosecution team is concerned, the trial will proceed, Luistro said noting the “serving of summons” to the Vice President “for the Filipino people to see what her defenses are.”
“In any court, under the rules, the serving of summons triggers the acquisition of jurisdiction,” said Luistro, adding that Duterte has 10 days to answer and it is not extendable.
“The fight continues. The impeachment trial proceeds,” Luistro said.
“To give way to the clarification, I would defer receiving the order (from the Senate). This is not disobedience. We are only seeking guidance,” she added.
Manila Rep. Joel Chua also said the House prosecution team will not seek any remedy yet in light of the Senate’s alleged grave abuse of discretion until the Senate responds to their petition to seek clarification.
According to Luistro, among the issues that they are clarifying is the cancellation of the reading of the articles of impeachment as previously scheduled by the Senate and postponed indefinitely.
San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Zamora also responded to the argument raised by Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa that the House may have violated the one-year ban on impeachment cases when it approved the fourth complaint on February 5.
According to Zamora, the fourth complaint was a consolidated version of the previous three cases lodged against the Vice President, which fell exactly on the 10th session day of the House of Representative.
This means the House obeyed the rules of procedure in accordance with the Constitution.
Libanan noted that the Senate as the impeachment court essentially gave the House prosecution a choice to be either “combative” or “cooperative” and they are choosing the latter.
“In court, if you’re too aggressive, you might likely lose. But if you cooperate with the court’s orders and present your evidence, you’re more likely to win. So, our strategy is to act as prosecutors in front of the impeachment judges,” Libanan said.
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story.
