House forms secretariat to assist prosecutors in VP Sara Duterte impeach trial

The House of Representatives has deployed 134 individuals as part of the Impeachment Secretariat which will provide support services to House prosecutors in the forthcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

In a memorandum order dated February 27 and released to the media February 28, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said the 134-strong personnel will “render support services, on rotation basis, with schedules to be  determined by the respective Head of Office/Deputy Secretary General.”

The 134 personnel came from the following units:

• Office of the Secretary General  (OSG)
• OSG Support Staff
• Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms
• Information and Communications Technology Service
• Legislative Operations Department
• Legal Affairs Department
• Engineering and Physical Facilities Department
• Administrative Department
• Inter Parliamentary and Public Affairs Department and
• Committee Affairs Department

“The House Secretariat plays a vital role in ensuring the orderly conduct of legislative proceedings, including impeachment trials. This directive ensures that the prosecution team has access to essential logistical, research, and documentation support to facilitate a smooth and efficient trial process,” Velasco said, adding that this will include plenary support, legal research, records management, stenographic transcription, information technology, security, and administrative coordination.

“Employees who render service over their regular working hours, on-site or otherwise, will be entitled to compensatory time or or overtime,” the memorandum added.

The personnel required to report to the Senate full-time during the impeachment trial are mandated to register their attendance in the HousePass Attendance-Monitoring device at the designated House of Representatives Secretariat room.

Personnel reporting in the Senate who are not on the master list of the Office of the Secretary General, on the other hand, will not be able to register their attendance on-site.

Further, Velasco said that the assigned personnel will adhere to strict House rules and ethical guidelines, ensuring transparency and professionalism throughout the process.

“This is a routine function aligned with our constitutional duty. The House Secretariat remains neutral and professional in fulfilling its mandate,” Velasco said.

The House impeached the Vice President last February 5, accusing her of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption and other high crimes based on the following seven Articles of Impeachment:

• conspiracy to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. First Lady Liza Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez;
• malversation of P612.5 Million in confidential funds with questionable liquidation documents;
• bribery and corruption in the DepEd during Duterte’s tenure by handing out cash to former DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Jumamil-Mercado (Procurement Head), Bids and Awards Committee Member Resty Osias, DepEd Chief Accountant Rhunna Catalan and Special Disbursing Officer Edward Fajarda;
• unexplained wealth and failure to disclose assets in the Vice President’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth where her wealth increased by four times from 2007 from 2017;
• involvement in extrajudicial killings in Davao City;
• destabilization, insurrection, and public disorder efforts, which include: boycotting the State of the Nation Address (SONA) while declaring herself "designated survivor," leading rallies calling for Marcos' resignation, obstructing congressional investigations by ordering subordinates not to comply with subpoenas, threatening bodily harm against the First Couple and Romualdez, among others;
• the totality of the Vice President’s conduct as the second highest official of the land

There were 215 House members who signed off on the impeachment complaint, more than the constitutionally-required one third of the House members needed to send the complaint straight to the Senate for the conduct of the impeachment trial, bypassing committee-level deliberations in the House.

Since then, the number of signatories to the impeachment complaint from the House ranks has increased to 245.

‘Delayed trial might discourage witnesses’

Also on Friday, one of the House prosecutors and Manila Rep. Joel Chua said a delayed Senate impeachment trial might discourage witnesses to testify against the Vice President.

Chua made the position after Senate President Francis Escudero released a timeline for the impeachment trial which only starts in the 20th Congress by July, or after the 2025 midterm polls.

“Kaya naman po namin gusto na ito pong impeachment ay masimulan na. Dahil alam po ninyo, siyempre tinitingnan din po namin ‘yung mga ebidensya na nakalap po namin. Eh ‘yung tampering of evidence, isa po ‘yan. Pangalawa po, ‘yung mga testigo po natin, siyempre alam po natin baka mamaya pag tumatagal, eh medyo marami po diyan ang matakot,” Chua said in a separate press conference.

(We really want the trial to start soon because looking at the evidence we got...there’s a risk of tampering of evidence, that’s one. And witnesses, as this drags on, many of them could feel scared.)

“Habang tumatagal po ang trial, ang pagsisimula ng impeachment, nanganganib po ‘yung mga ebidensya po namin at ‘yung mga testigo po namin. ‘Yan lang naman po yung sa amin,” Chua added.

(The longer the delay of the impeachment trial, the evidence we have, including the witnesses, will be at risk. That is our point here.)

Chua said having fears to testify is only human nature and that does not make it easier for the prosecutors.

“That’s really a challenge because we need to provide protection for our witnesses. We have to give them assurance [that it is alright to testify]. At the end of the day, it is but human to have fears...there’s anxiety on their part,” Chua said.

Chua then reiterated the Article 11 Section 3.4 of the 1987 Constitution which states that “in case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House, the same should constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.”

“At the end of the day, this is a constitutional mandate. Ito po ay obligasyon na pinatawag po sa atin ng taumbayan. Sa amin naman po, kami naman po ay ginagampanan din po namin yung obligasyon din po namin ng naayon sa ating Saligang Batas,” Chua said.

(This is an obligation to our countrymen. On our part, it is our obligation based on our Constitution.)

“The preamble of our Constitution states, we the People. It is the people who are imploring us here,” Chua added.

The preamble of the 1987 Constitution reads “We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.”

SC petition

Duterte has since filed a Supreme Court petition challenging the validity of the impeachment complaint.

Lawyers from Mindanao and other groups have also asked the SC to stop the trial, calling the complaint defective.

Another petition filed by lawyer Catalino Generillo Jr. seeks to compel the Senate to convene as an impeachment court immediately.  — RSJ, GMA Integrated News