Acidre: Justice panel unanimous vote not a verdict on VP Duterte guilt

Tingog Partylist Rep. Jude Acidre said that the House Committee on Justice’s vote on the existence of probable cause did not determine whether Vice President Sara Duterte was guilty or not guilty of the crimes alleged against her.

Acidre noted that the unanimous turnout on behalf of the members of the committee, was a mere “affirmation” that the lawmakers found evidence does exist when it comes to the complaints.

“Sa tingin ko ho, ang ibig sabihin nung botohan na ginawa namin nung nakaraang linggo was affirmation na pagkatapos ng proseso, pagkatapos matimbang lahat ng ebidensya, napakinggan natin yung mga testimonya nung mga resource person, nakita natin na may probable cause (For me, the voting that was conducted last week was affirmation after the process, after all evidence has been weighed, after the testimonies of the resource persons, that we saw that was probable cause),” he said during a radio interview.

The former House Majority Leader reiterated that the proceedings conducted by the Justice panel were not an actual trial of the Vice President’s case, but merely a process to determine whether the complaints should be transmitted to the Senate.

Under the Constitution, the Senate acts as the impeachment court that tries and decides whether public officials should be convicted and removed from office based on the high crimes they allegedly committed.

Senators serve as judges, while lawmakers are chosen to form an 11-member prosecution panel that will take part in the trial.

According to Acidre, the Justice Committee has already drawn up a shortlist of potential lawyer-lawmakers who may be included in the team to be sent to the Senate.

Among those being considered are Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, who endorsed the third impeachment complaint, and Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno.

In a previous interview, Committee Chairperson Gerville Luistro also floated the names of San Juan Rep. Ysabel Zamora, Bukidnon Rep. Keith Flores, Manila Rep. Joel Chua, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon, and Cagayan de Oro Rep. Lordan Suan as possible prosecutors.