With or without Sara, impeach trial proceeding

The continued stay of Vice President Sara Duterte in The Hague, Netherlands will not compromise her looming impeachment trial as the proceedings shall start and continue regardless of her physical presence, a House prosecutor asserted Sunday.

Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor explained that Duterte’s absence is “not an excuse” to delay the proceedings, highlighting the urgent need to address the gravity of the allegations hurled against her, including graft and corruption, which could only be stopped if she gets convicted by the Senate impeachment court and is perpetually disqualified from holding public office.

“The case they are facing [with former president Rodrigo Duterte] is very serious, but an impeachment trial is also serious. There are threats to the life of the President, the President’s wife, and the embezzlement of huge public funds worth P612.5 million,” said Defensor, one of the 11-member prosecution panel, in Filipino.

“We can’t use the excuse that you are abroad because the impeachment trial can continue even if the Vice President is not present,” he added.

The Vice President faces seven articles of impeachment, including the alleged illegal use of P612.5 million in confidential funds during her concurrent tenure as Vice President and as former Education Secretary.

The House of Representatives impeached the Vice President on 5 February, outlining seven articles of impeachment, including high crimes for allegedly instructing someone to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and Speaker Romualdez if the supposed plot against her succeeded.

She also faces allegations of bribery, graft, and corruption for the purported misuse of her confidential funds to the tune of P612.5 million, which was allocated in 2022 and 2023 to her office and the Department of Education during her tenure as its secretary.

She vehemently denied the allegations and maintained that they are part of a “coordinated political attack” aimed at discrediting her to prevent future political contests.

The VP has remained in The Hague, arranging the legal defense of her father, who is awaiting trial before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity related to his notorious bloody war on drugs.

Over the weekend, she disclosed that her travel arrangements were already being made and that she could return to the Philippines anytime soon.

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who will sit as presiding judge, said that the rules on impeachment allow the Vice President to answer the allegations against her during the arraignment either personally or through her lawyer.

“If her presence is needed to have the witnesses identify her, that would be the only opportunity that we will require her attendance,” Escudero explained in the same interview, though he noted that she also has the right to waive her appearance.

But for Defensor, it would be a “big deal” if Duterte does not attend the hearing, claiming that it will fuel speculations that she may be avoiding accountability or hiding something.

“It’s a big deal if she doesn’t show up... It means you’re avoiding something or hiding something. The impeachment trial is not about putting the Vice President in jail but giving her a good and fair chance to exonerate herself,” he noted.

“The objective here is to determine whether a high-ranking official deserves to remain in office or be removed from her position because of her wrongdoings, such as the seven Articles of Impeachment laid out in our impeachment complaint,” Defensor further explained.

According to Defensor, the prosecution is already 80 percent ready with the evidence to be presented in the trial but refused to disclose the identities of the witnesses to prevent them from being compromised and to avoid tampering and intimidation of witnesses.

He also mentioned that the prosecution panel would be composed of “veteran lawyers” who volunteered to help in Duterte’s trial, believing that the proceedings would continue to uphold accountability.

Meanwhile, Escudero claimed that, at present, there is “no indication” that Marcos will call for a special session, although he intends to find out when they meet for the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council after the 12 May elections.

The Senate impeachment court will try Duterte on 30 June, or after the 20th Congress takes over and 12 new senators are sworn in.

The Senate will need a two-thirds vote, or at least 16 of the 24 sitting senators, to convict Duterte. If convicted, she will be permanently disqualified from holding any public office, including her alleged ambition to succeed Marcos in the 2028 elections.