By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The House prosecution panel remains confident in the Senate’s ability to fairly conduct the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte regardless of who ultimately presides over the proceedings, Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said.
Speaking before reporters, Luistro emphasized that the impeachment process is anchored on constitutional accountability rather than the personalities involved in overseeing the trial. She said the prosecution team is prepared to present its case whether the proceedings are led by acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, or former Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.
According to Luistro, the focus of the impeachment trial should remain on the issues and evidence presented rather than on the identity of the presiding officer or the composition of the prosecution and defense teams.
The lawmaker, who serves as one of the lead public prosecutors, expressed confidence in the Senate’s institutional mechanisms, saying the chamber possesses established procedures designed to ensure fairness and accountability in impeachment cases.
Luistro also addressed concerns stemming from controversies surrounding the previous impeachment complaint against Duterte during the 19th Congress. She urged observers not to prejudge Escudero based solely on criticisms linked to the handling of the earlier impeachment proceedings.
The first impeachment complaint against Duterte reached the Senate in February 2025 after being endorsed by more than 200 lawmakers, triggering constitutional provisions governing impeachment cases. The proceedings later became the subject of legal and political debate due to differing interpretations of the constitutional requirement that the Senate act “forthwith” on impeachment matters.
Questions over the pace of the proceedings prompted criticism from some legal experts and public officials, including former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who argued that the constitutional language required immediate action.
However, the controversy was later overtaken by a ruling from the Supreme Court, which declared the Articles of Impeachment unconstitutional for violating the Constitution’s one-year prohibition on multiple impeachment proceedings against the same official.
Despite lingering discussions about Senate leadership and past impeachment disputes, Luistro maintained that the prosecution panel is ready to proceed once the impeachment trial formally begins and remains confident that the Senate will fulfill its constitutional mandate.
She stressed that the impeachment process should ultimately be viewed as an accountability mechanism designed to uphold public trust in government institutions, regardless of the officials tasked with administering the proceedings.
ia/xf
