House prosecutors warn: VP Sara Duterte impeachment delays may anger public

Further delays in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte due to the ongoing leadership dispute in the Senate could provoke public outrage, members of the House prosecution panel said Monday.

The prosecutors made the statement after submitting a manifestation to the Senate impeachment court saying they would no longer reply to Duterte's answer to the Articles of Impeachment, arguing that her response did not raise any new material or factual issues requiring rebuttal.

The submission came amid a continuing power struggle in the Senate, with the bloc led by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano refusing to recognize the election of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian as acting Senate president by a 12-member Senate plenary.

Cayetano earlier scheduled the submission of the parties' pretrial briefs — containing the witnesses and evidence they intend to present — on June 15. The first day of the impeachment trial has been tentatively set for July 6, although House prosecutors said they have yet to receive official notice of the schedule.

"This is not a question of the personality of who will preside, who will serve as senator-judges, who will act as prosecutors, or who will be part of the defense. What the Constitution mandates is very simple and clear: trial forthwith," House lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro said during a press conference.

"It does not mention personalities or positions. After trial forthwith comes judgment — either conviction or acquittal. That is what we expect to happen. Otherwise, the people will get angry. That is clear," she added.

Luistro cited a recent survey showing that 74 percent of Filipinos want the impeachment trial to proceed.

"A supermajority of Filipinos are waiting for this trial. Seventy-four percent are very much in favor of the proceedings moving forward. These allegations against the Vice President date back to the 19th Congress, and until now, the Filipino people have not heard answers to them," Luistro said.

"So if you ask what the consequences of further delays will be, certainly from my perspective, Filipinos will be angry if we keep delaying this impeachment trial," she added.

Articles of Impeachment

The Articles of Impeachment transmitted by the House accuse Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, bribery, and other high crimes.

The allegations include:

a) the alleged misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of P500 million in confidential funds released to the Office of the Vice President and P112.5 million released to the Department of Education during Duterte's tenure as Education secretary;

b) amassing unexplained wealth allegedly disproportionate to her lawful income;

c) failure to fully and truthfully disclose assets, liabilities, and net worth in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs), including those for 2022, 2023, and 2024;

d) failure to divest business interests while serving as vice president from 2022 to 2025;

e) allegedly giving monetary gifts or payments to Department of Education officials to induce violations of procurement and related laws; and

f) allegedly threatening President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and inciting sedition.

Items (a), (e), and (f) comprise Articles I, III, and IV, respectively, while items (b), (c), and (d) are covered under Article II.

'High cost of delay'

Party-list Representatives Chel Diokno and Renee Co said every delay carries a cost for the Filipino people.

"If there is another delay, that is another day when accountability is postponed. It is another day when the question of where the people's money went remains unanswered," Co said.

"The people have been waiting for the presentation of evidence in the impeachment trial. There should be no further delays," Diokno added.

During the same press conference, Luistro said the Cayetano bloc's proposal for an interim administrative arrangement or shared Senate leadership was unconstitutional.

"The Constitution does not provide for an interim administration. Besides, having two Senate presidents, two Senate secretaries, and two clerks of court is difficult to conceive. There has to be only one because that is what the Constitution provides," Luistro said.

The House has already recognized Gatchalian's leadership, with Speaker Faustino Dy III congratulating him on his new role and expressing confidence in his ability to lead the Senate.

Luistro said it follows that the House prosecution panel also recognizes Gatchalian's leadership.

"Kung nasaan ang House, naroon kami," she said.

(Where the House stands, we stand as well.)

Senate dispute

Cayetano was removed after 12 senators attended a Senate session and voted on the leadership issue.

The Gatchalian bloc argued that 12 senators constitute a quorum under the Supreme Court's ruling in the case of Jose Avelino v. Mariano Jesus Cuenco, which held that 12 senators may constitute a quorum if at least one member of the 24-member Senate is beyond the chamber's jurisdiction.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada, an ally of the Cayetano bloc, is currently detained over allegations of plunder linked to the flood-control controversy.

Another senator, Ronald dela Rosa, has gone into hiding amid a standing warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in connection with alleged drug war killings during his tenure as chief of the Philippine National Police.—MCG, GMA News