Ted Te, 3 others tapped to assist House prosecutors in Sara Duterte's impeach trial

The House prosecution team on Monday named former Supreme Court Public Information Office chief and human rights lawyer Theodore "Ted" Te, along with three others, as additional private prosecutors who will assist in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

House prosecutor and House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Leila de Lima made the announcement a week before the start of the impeachment trial on July 6.

“This is for strengthening the House prosecution’s communication and legal teams,” De Lima said in a press conference.

Te is also the interim chairperson of the Free Legal Assistance Group and the faculty of the UP College of Law.

Aside from Te, the three additional private prosecutors include:

• Atty. Reynaldo Robles,
• Atty. Arnold Labay, and
• Atty. Mae Divinagracia.

Robles said they volunteered to be a part of the prosecution “to help out in the process of accountability.”

“Ang nais lang po namin ay manaig ang katotohanan at makamit ang hustisya,” said Labay, a certified public accountant and lawyer.

“It is an honor for me to work with the great legal minds, and I joined the prosecution team for one reason, and that is accountability. We, Filipinos, deserve absolute transparency and accountability from our leaders,” Divinagracia added.

House prosecution team names former SC Public Info Office chief and human rights lawyer Theodore Te and three other lawyers as private prosecutors for the impeachment trial of VP Sara Duterte @gmanews pic.twitter.com/20aEjgEmqj

— Llanesca T. Panti (@llanescajourno) June 29, 2026

Cabral’s ex-counsel

Divinagracia used to be the lawyer of the late Public Works Undersecretary for Planning Catalina Cabral, who was linked to the flood control mess.

After Cabral's death in December 2025, Divinagracia said her client felt she was being used as a scapegoat.

She added that her stint as Cabral’s counsel does not run counter to the House prosecution team’s mission to exact accountability.

“We expect people to raise these issues, if only to divert attention from this important constitutional process. If there is any doubt, if there is any inconsistency between my representation of former Usec Cabral and my participation in the impeachment proceedings, with all due respect, I don’t see any inconsistency,” she said.

“When I represented Usec Cabral, I was defending her due process rights, and accountability entails due process, evidence, fairness, and respect for the law, which is also material in this [impeachment] process. My defense of the due process rights of one client is not inconsistent with myself helping [the prosecution] in the pursuit of public accountability,” Divinagracia added.

Aside from private prosecutors, former Surigao del Norte Representative Ace Barbers was also named as impeachment adviser and spokesperson.

During the same press conference, De Lima also said that lawyer Benjamin Tolosa, Jr., who has been earlier named as one of the House prosecution team’s spokespersons, will also serve as one of the private prosecutors helping the House prosecution panel.

The House earlier named 10 private lawyers to assist them in the impeachment trial of the Vice President. —AOL/BM, GMA News