De Lima: Premature to ask senators VP Sara endorsed to recuse from impeachment trial

It is premature to ask senators whose candidacies have been endorsed by Vice President Sara Duterte to recuse themselves from her impeachment trial, ML party-list Representative-elect Leila De Lima said on Monday.

De Lima, a former senator and a former secretary of justice, instead called on the senators to rule on the articles of impeachment against Sara Duterte based on the evidence and the 1987 Constitution.

“As a lawyer and former Justice Secretary, I believe that every senator has the duty to judge the impeachment based on the evidence and the Constitution. Nothing more, nothing less," De Lima said.

"So ang hiling po natin ay hindi mag-recuse o mag-inhibit, kundi tumingin sa ebidensiya, at tuparin ang sinumpaang tungkulin sa mga Pilipino,” she added.

(Our wish is not for them to recuse or inhibit but to look at the evidence and do their sworn duty to the Filipinos.)

De Lima is a member of the prosecution panel of the House of Representatives.

She said it was important to stick with the impeachment process, and senator-judges should have the chance to prove their mettle and integrity, given that the trial will air on national television for the public to witness.

“Masyado pang maaga para ikonsidera ang issue ng possible inhibition. Tingnan muna natin kung ano talaga ang mga magiging asta o mga pahayag nila kapag mag-umpisa na ang impeachment trial proceedings,” De Lima said.

(It is premature to consider the issue of possible inhibition. Let's first see how the senators will carry themselves when the impeachment trial proceedings start.)

“Dahil televised ang proceedings, makikita rin ng taumbayan kung makatwiran at makatarungan ang paghuhusga ng senator-judges, at hindi lamang batay sa loyalty sa kung kaninong politiko,” she added.

(Since the proceedings are televised, the public will be able to witness if the Senator judges will be reasonable and can deliver justice instead of deciding based on loyalty to a certain politician.)

Under the Constitution, the conviction of an impeached official requires 16 votes or two-thirds of the 24-member Senate.

For an impeached official to be acquitted, he or she needs nine.

The Vice President was impeached by the House of Reentatives on February 5, with over 200 congressmen endorsing the complaint against her. 

She was accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes mainly over alleged misuse of around P612.5 million worth of confidential funds and threatening to kill President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., his wife First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and the President’s cousin, Speaker, Leyte First District Rep. Martin Romualdez.

The Vice President said she is looking forward to her impeachment trial in the upcoming 20th Congress because she “wants a bloodbath,'' noting that her legal team is on "full throttle" in their preparations. –NB, GMA Integrated News