House prosecutor: Compressing impeachment trial would deny due process

House impeachment prosecutor and San Juan City Representative Ysabel Maria Zamora on Tuesday said that the proposal to compress the timeline of the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte would deny both sides due process—and advised Senator Robin Padilla to review the Constitution after he filed a resolution to dismiss the impeachment complaint outright.

“Senator Padilla has to maybe review the Constitution. Maybe some of his advisors should advise him on constitutional law and that you cannot kill an impeachment by mere resolution,” Zamora told reporters in an interview.

Zamora also opposed Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino’s resolution for a compressed impeachment trial timeline of 19 days.

“Well, for me, that compressed timeline is unacceptable. Not acceptable for the simple reason that it will deny due process to both sides,” she said.

The Senate on Tuesday finally convened as an impeachment court to put Duterte on trial over seven articles of impeachment, including the question of how P612.5 million in confidential funds was spent.

Zamora said two days each is not enough for the House prosecution panel and the defense to present all of their evidence.

“This is both on a procedural side and on the substantive side of due process. Ang naisip ko nga po, yung away ng magkapitbahay, hindi yan nare-resolve sa Katarungang Pambarangay in one day [A dispute among neighbors cannot be resolved by the barangay justice system in one day]. What more an impeachment case against the Vice President where we have numerous voluminous documents or evidence to present. So we have to give both parties their right to due process,” she said.

She also revealed that for five hours on Monday, the House prosecution panel practiced the reading of the Articles of Impeachment by House prosecutor and Batangas Representative Gerville Luistro and responding to possible questions that will be raised by the senators.

About 15 private prosecutors joined the House prosecutors during the rehearsal, she added.

Meanwhile House spokesperson Princess Abante said the House welcomed Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero's taking his oath as the impeachment court's presiding officer on Monday evening. 

"Ginalaw na po ang baso [They have made their presence felt]," she said. “The House of Representatives welcomes this development… Nakinig na po ang Senado sa mga pahayag, hindi lang ng Kamara, kundi ng iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan [The Senate has listened to the calls, not just by the Congress, but by different sectors of society].”

On Padilla’s resolution to dismiss the impeachment complaint, Abante said, “The Speaker has always said that he leaves it to the discretion of the Senate on how they will act on the impeachment trial. But there are various experts, both from the academe and the legal sectors, that state [that] the senator-judges cannot move to dismiss the trial on their own.”

“Ang hiling lang po natin, maging faithful sila sa alituntinin ng Konstitusyon [Our only request is that they remain faithful to the rules of the Constitution]. Because in a society that follows the rule of law, the Constitution will always be supreme,” Abante added.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos has also said that it is clear the impeachment proceedings will cross over from the current 19th Congress to the 20th Congress.

“Naging senator-judge din si President Bongbong Marcos. I understand where he’s coming from. Ang importante sa Kamara ngayon, masimulan ang impeachment trial [President Marcos has been a senator-judge himself...What's important is that the impeachment trial begin],” Abante said.

“Ang nakalagay naman sa Konstitusyon ay to try and decide. Hindi naman sinabi roon kung anong Congress ang magde-decide. Ang sinasabi ay simulan at tapusin at magbigay ng desisyon ang Senado,” she explained.

(What it says in the Constitution is to try and decide. It does not say which Congress will decide. What it says is to begin the trial, end the trial, and hand down the Senate's decision.)

Abante also said Vice President Duterte’s present personal trip abroad will not derail the proceedings.

“I believe the impeachment rules have, meron naman siyang nakalagay kung paano ang pag-serve at notify sa accused. Ang requirement kasi diyan is personal service pero meron din naman sa rules if personal service cannot be made. Ang importante, simulan na ng Senado ang trial para alam na rin natin kung ano na yung mga susunod na hakbang ng prosecutors at ano na ang mangyayari sa impeachment process,” Abante stressed.

(I believe the impeachment rules have a provision on how the accused may be notified. the requirement is personal service but there are also rules for when personal service cannot be made. What's important is that the Senate being the trial so that we the prosecutors will know the next steps to take and what will happen in the impeachment process.)

Abante declined to comment on the Duterte defense team’s allegations that the impeachment complaint is flawed, saying this is already the subject of the Vice President’s petition before the Supreme Court challenging the House impeachment.

Abante also defended the House of Representatives from Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero’s pronouncements that the House also dilly-dallied on the impeachment complaints.

“I believe the House of Representatives did its job in a timely and decisive manner. Again, [the role of the] House of Representatives is to receive the complaint, to verify the complaint as to its form, substance and grounds, to make sure that it will be properly passed by the correct number of members of the House of Representatives, and it will be transmitted to the Senate. All these were done by the House of Representatives in a timely and decisive manner. Kung gaano katagal o kung gaano kabilis, hindi na yan kasama sa kailangang alalahanin ng Senado. Ang kailangang alalahanin ng Senado ay ang kanilang tungkulin sa impeachment process ayon sa Konstitusyon. Sabi ng Konstitusyon, proceed forthwith,” Abante said. 

(However long or quickly it took, it's not part of what the Senate must remember, and that is it is their duty according to the Constitution to proceed with the trial forthwith.)

Asked for her reaction to Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa’s claim that the country will be further divided by an impeachment trial, Abante replied, “Well, ang impeachment trial, provided ‘to ng Constitution. Merong mga dahilan para pagdaanan ito. Kung siguro unnecessary ang mga impeachment proceedings in all governments, dapat wala ito sa Constitution, di ba? So ako, tingin ko, kailangan munang masimulan at ang ating mga Senator-judges, makinig doon sa paglahad ng mga ebidensya and they will have the opportunity to decide on the case.” 

(An impeachment trial is provided for in the Constitution. There are reasons why it must be undertaken. If impeachment proceedings are unnecessary, than it wouldn't be in the Constitution, right? So, as I see it, the trial must first begin and the senator-judges must listen to the evidence as it is laid out and they will have the opportunity to decide on the case.) — BM, GMA Integrated News