House prosecutor: Sara Duterte doesn't need to come home for impeachment trial

An impeachment prosecutor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday said Vice President Sara Duterte's presence is not needed for her impeachment trial to proceed.

Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo 3rd District Representative Lorenz Defensor, who is part of the 11-member House prosecution panel, said Duterte can be represented by her lawyers.

However, Defensor also stressed the importance of the Vice President's attendance in the trial.

"VP Sara can choose to attend or not to attend the impeachment trial. As long as she is represented by her counsel during the trial, the trial can proceed kahit wala siya (the trial can proceed even without her). But remember, her personal appearance would say a lot with respect to her accountability, with respect to transparency in the trial,” Defensor said.

"Kasi ang gusto lang naman marinig ng mga taong bayan is paano mo ginastos 'yung pera ng confidential and intelligence funds (The nation just wants to know how she spent the confidential and intelligence funds). And a straight answer from her would answer all the questions," he added.

The second of seven Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President relate to alleged malversation of P612.5 million in confidential funds with supposedly questionable liquidation documents.

Defensor said the House prosecution panel was currently 80% ready for the impeachment trial.

The Iloilo congressman, along with San Juan Representative Ysabel Maria Zamora, are in charge of Article 1 on the alleged threats of the Vice President against President Bongbong Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Private lawyers

Defensor said private lawyers who were involved in previous impeachment trials are now helping them. He, however, refused to name these private lawyers.

"They are practicing lawyers and litigators who've had experience in previous impeachments. That's as far as I can go," Defensor said.

He also confirmed that they have conducted a mock trial.

"We are preparing our testimonial and documentary evidence. And we have conducted a run-through of what an impeachment court would feel like, anticipating possible objections from the defense team," Defensor stated.

Duterte has said that she was hoping that the legal team of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, would be completed before she leaves the Netherlands and comes back to the Philippines.

The elder Duterte is currently detained in The Hague, Netherlands following his arrest and pre-trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity. — VDV, GMA Integrated News