Padilla tells Luistro: Prosecutor's job is not to win but to seek the truth

A day after asking House Prosecutors "not to be one-sided" at the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, Senator Robin Padilla told lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro that their job "is not to win" but to seek the truth.

"Ang tungkulin ng prosecution (piskal) ay hindi para manalo, kundi para sa katotohanan at proteksyon ng inosente," Padilla said in a Facebook post addressed to Luistro on Thursday.

(The duty of the prosecution is not to win, but to seek the truth and protect the innocent.)

"Ang tungkulin naman ng defense (tagapagtanggol) ay ang pagtiyak sa karapatang pantao at balanse sa kapangyarihan," he added.

(The role of the defense is to ensure the protection of human rights and a balance of power.)

One-sided

Padilla's statement comes a day after he asked the prosecution to refrain from presenting witnesses with perjury cases, citing National Bureau of Investigation agents John Mark Calilung and Jeremy Lotoc, whom he said had those issued.

Luistro took exception to Padilla's remarks, saying Calilung and Lotoc had no perjury charges. She then said convictions were not grounds for disqualification.

“Napakaganda po ng sagot niyo. Sana hindi po one-sided ang prosecution,” Padilla added, earning reaction from the audience.

(You have a very good answer. I hope the prosecution is not one-sided.)

GMA News Online is trying to reach out to Luistro for comment.

'More surprising'

Luistro, however, maintained that it was the prosecution's job to establish the case against the respondent, adding that it would be more irregular if the panel were neutral.

"Kaya merong prosecution, is to establish the case. Kaya may defense is to defend the innocence of the respondent. So it is very much anticipated that the prosecution is biased towards presenting the case, presenting the evidence,” Luistro said in a news briefing after Wednesday's trial.

(That is why there is a prosecution, to establish the case. That is why there is a defense, to defend the innocence of the respondent. So it is very much anticipated that the prosecution is biased toward presenting the case and the evidence.)

“Siguro, mas nakakapagtaka kapag naging neutral ang prosecution at lalong nakakapagtaka kung ide-defend namin ‘yung respondent,” she added.

(Perhaps it would be more surprising if the prosecution were neutral, and even more surprising if we were the ones defending the respondent.)

Neutral

Padilla on Thursday then said that both sides should serve only one purpose, which is "to seek justice."

"Sa isang modelong sistemang legal, kapwa ang pag-uusig (prosecution) at ang pagtatanggol (defense) ay mga itinatag na haligi upang magsilbi sa iisang layunin: ang hustisya," Padilla said.

(In an ideal legal system, both the prosecution and the defense are established pillars serving a single purpose: justice.)

"Ang hustisya ay dapat maging ganap na neutral, bulag sa mga alyansang politikal, at bingi sa mga bulong ng kapangyarihan, dahil sa sandaling pumili ito ng panig, nawawalan ito ng katuturan bilang hustisya at nagiging purong pang-aapi lamang," he added.

(Justice must be completely neutral, blind to political alliances, and deaf to the whispers of power; for the moment it takes a side, it loses its meaning as justice and becomes nothing more than pure oppression.) —VAL, GMA News