Luistro urges study of Avelino ruling for VP Sara impeachment trial voting

House lead prosecutor Representative Gerville Luistro on Monday urged a study on whether the Supreme Court’s (SC) ruling in Avelino v. Cuenco, which recognized a reduced quorum under certain circumstances, may be applied to voting in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Under the 1987 Constitution, at least two-thirds of all the members of the Senate are required to convict an official. A total of 16 votes is needed for conviction and only nine votes for acquittal.

“Documents will show na sinunod ‘yung Avelino v. Cuenco. Na-reduce ‘yung number of quorum because these senators were outside the coercive power of the Senate,” she said on Unang Balita.

(Documents will show that Avelino v. Cuenco was followed. The quorum requirement was reduced because these senators were outside the coercive power of the Senate.)

“Sa akin po, dapat ito ay pag-aralan rin kung posible bang sundan din itong jurisprudence na ito for the purpose of determining the number of required votes for the purpose of conviction. Hindi lang conviction, pati acquittal,” she added.

(In my view, this should also be studied to determine whether this jurisprudence can likewise be followed for the purpose of determining the number of votes required for conviction. Not only for conviction, but also for acquittal.)

According to Luistro, the SC should determine the correct number needed for the purpose of conviction.

Luistro said she believes that the Constitution and laws are evolving, and they must respond to the demands of time.

“Ito po ang sa akin, bakit ba tayo may mga senador? The purpose is to represent the Filipino people. So kung ang ating senador ay nakakulong, kung ang ating senador ay nagtatago, kung ang ating senador ay nasa labas ng bansa, can we truly say that at that particular occasion, they are representing the interest of the sovereign Filipino people? Of course the answer is no,” Luistro said.

(This is my point: why do we have senators? The purpose is to represent the Filipino people. So if a senator is in detention, if a senator is in hiding, if a senator is outside the country, can we truly say that, on that particular occasion, they are representing the interests of the sovereign Filipino people? Of course, the answer is no.)

To recall, several senators elected Senator Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate President Pro Tempore and later named him acting Senate President amid the continued absence of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and other members of the majority bloc.

Gatchalian said that the ruling found that an absolute majority of 12 out of 23 members could constitute a constitutional majority for quorum purposes.

For his part, Cayetano has maintained that he remains the Senate President.

Meanwhile, Luistro maintained that the House of Representatives recognizes the election of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate President Pro-tempore. Gatchalian was later named acting Senate President.

Despite this, she expressed hope that a Senate President will soon be elected to avoid issues on constitutionality.

“We are quite apprehensive sapagkat napaka-sensitive nito, nitong impeachment trial na ito. And we do not want to encounter another issue of constitutionality,” she said.

(We are quite apprehensive because this impeachment trial is extremely sensitive. And we do not want to encounter another issue of constitutionality.)

Pre-trial brief

The House Prosecution panel is set to submit today the pre-trial brief for the impeachment trial of Duterte.

“So may listahan po tayo ng mga stipulation of facts na pwedeng ang sagot ng depensa, admitted or not admitted. Ang layon po nito, bawasan ‘yung mga pagtatalunan doon sa trial,” she said.

(So we have a list of stipulations of facts to which the defense may answer either admitted or not admitted. The purpose of this is to reduce the number of issues that will be disputed during the trial.)

Aside from this, Luistro said the pre-trial brief contains the list of witnesses and documents that will be presented during the presentation of evidence.

“The significance of this pre-trial brief, it serves like a blueprint, a roadmap, at ito po ang susundin sa atin pong paguumpisa ng paglilitis. And apparently, the rule is, ‘yung nailagay mo lang sa pre-trial brief o napapaloob sa pre-trial order, ‘yan lang ang pwede nating ilatag during the presentation of evidence,” she said.

(The significance of this pre-trial brief is that it serves like a blueprint, a roadmap, and this is what we will follow when we begin the trial. And apparently, the rule is that only the matters included in the pre-trial brief or contained in the pre-trial order may be presented during the presentation of evidence.)

Meanwhile, Luistro said the stipulation of facts will be tackled during the pre-trial conference on June 18, Thursday. — RSJ, GMA News