Prosecutor says House won't withdraw impeachment raps vs. VP Sara

The House prosecution panel is not considering withdrawing the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte or receiving them in case the Senate returns them to the House of Representatives, San Juan Rep Ysabel Maria Zamora said on Friday.

Zamora said these options, as well as outrightly dismissing the impeachment complaint without a trial, are unconstitutional.

“Returning it to sender or dismissing the impeachment complaint right away are unconstitutional acts,” Zamora told reporters in an online interview.

“There's no option for the Senators to dismiss it. There's also no option for the House to withdraw it,” she added, citing the constitutional provision on the Senate impeachment court needing to hear the complaints forthrightly after they had been received.

Zamora said the House prosecution panel was focused on preparations for the impeachment trial.

She said Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro was assigned to read the articles of impeachment before the Senate on June 11. All 11 House prosecutors will be present.

“We have been preparing for several months, and we are still preparing. In fact, the members of the panel are preparing for our presentation in the Senate. So we are not affected by what's going on in the Senate, the draft resolution, or the comments that we hear from the Senators. We are still continuing to do our job because that is our job under the Constitution. So that is our duty. We have to be ready to present the evidence,” Zamora said.

“Honestly, it is our stand that they have already been convened or constituted as an impeachment court right from the start na nag-transmit tayo ng articles sa kanila,” Zamora said.

She also said the House Prosecution Panel talked about the draft resolution prepared by the office of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to outrightly dismiss the impeachment complaint.

“We talked about it. We were shocked. But, you know, siguro dahil alam natin na some senators are really openly planning to dismiss or have the impeachment proceedings dismissed right away. Lalo na, alam naman natin si Senator Bato dela Rosa ay very close, isa sa mga bata ng Duterte family. So, you know, they will surely do everything to dismiss, to have it dismissed or to delay the process,” Zamora said.

“The mere fact na nag-draft sila ng isang resolution that openly violates the Constitution is shocking for us,” she added.

She also denied Senate President Chiz Escudero’s pronouncement that members of the House of Representatives are “sunud-sunuran” to House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

“Hindi po kami sunud-sunuran kay Speaker. In fact, uulitin po, wala pong naging pilitan sa pagpirma ng impeachment,” Zamora stressed.

Zamora also thanked the Catholic Church for its support for the impeachment.

The Church has announced it will conduct a vigil at the Senate next week.

“We are very thankful for their support for the impeachment. Like we always say, hindi naman po natin ginagawa to para panigan ang isang party or what but we are doing this as our duty to the nation to protect the Office of the Vice Presidency, the Office of the Vice President,” Zamora said. –NB, GMA Integrated News