Too early to judge Chiz Escudero's role in VP Sara impeachment trial, says Luistro

House lead prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro appealed to the public to give Senator Francis Escudero a fair chance to prove his mettle once he assumes his role as presiding officer of the Senate impeachment court.

“We have to understand that the circumstances surrounding the first impeachment are entirely different from the circumstances surrounding the present impeachment. So ‘wag po natin i-prejudge si Senator Chiz Escudero, kung siya man po ang ma-designate na presiding officer,” Luistro said in a Balitanghali interview.

(Let us not prejudge Senator Escudero.)

She was referring to the 2025 impeachment case filed against the Vice President, which was approved by more than one-third of all House members without passing through the House committee on justice deliberations.

Under the 1987 Constitution, “in case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.”

Escudero, however, as the Senate President then, did not proceed with the trial and argued that forthwith does not necessarily mean immediately.

Luistro argued that Escudero deserves a chance to show that he is committed to accountability.

“Kasi ang aking humble opinion diyan eh constitutional mandate ito eh, regardless of who will be the presiding officer, ang mahalaga committed tayo doon sa process. Siguro ‘yun ang dapat natin marinig at makita from Sen. Chiz Escudero as to whether he is committed now to the accountability mechanism, this impeachment process. But let us not pre-judge him sapagkat iba po ‘yung circumstances noon, iba ‘yung circumstances ngayon,” Luistro said.

(The crucial thing here is the commitment to the process. That is what we should see in Senator Escudero. The circumstances are different.)

“Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. Hindi naman po porket naging posisyon niya doon sa first impeachment is different from our interpretation of forthwith, eh hindi pa naman po natin naririnig, as a matter of fact wala akong nakikitang interview ni Senator Chiz as to his appreciation of the present impeachment,” Luistro added.

(We cannot prejudge him just because he interpreted forthwith differently. As a matter of fact, I haven't heard him comment about his appreciation or lack of it when it comes to the present impeachment.)

The House prosecution panel has identified more than 30 possible witnesses.

The Articles of Impeachment approved by the House for Senate action accuse the Vice President of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, bribery and other high crimes, based on the following acts:

a) systematic misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of confidential funds amounting to P500 million released to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million released to the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure as Education chief

b) amassing unexplained wealth manifestly disproportionate to her lawful income and earnings during her incumbency as a public official

c) failure to fully and truthfully disclose all her and her spouse's assets, liabilities, and net worth in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN), including in her SALN for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024;

d) failure to divest, and instead, willfully continued, all her business interests during her tenure as vice president for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025

e) giving monetary gifts or payments to DepEd officials to induce the violation and circumvention of procurement and other related laws.

f) contracting for the assassination of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former Speaker of the House and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, by making grave threats, and by actively inciting sedition against the Republic.

Before the House approved the Articles of Impeachment for Senate action, the impeachment complaints filed against the Vice President in 2026 were earlier found by the House committee on justice to be sufficient in form, substance, and in grounds.

It was Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian who announced that Escudero is being considered as presiding officer of the impeachment court, considering that Gatchalian is not a lawyer.

Under the Constitution, the Senate President usually serves as the Presiding Officer, unless the impeachable official on trial is the President. In such case, the presiding officer will be the Chief Justice of the Philippines.

While being a lawyer is not required to serve as a Presiding Officer, there has never been a time in Philippine history that a non-lawyer served as the Presiding Officer of the Senate impeachment court.

The Gatchalian-led Senate majority bloc only has two lawyers on its roster: Escudero and Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan. —LDF, GMA News