With the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte inching closer, a solon said that evidence concerning her verbal threats towards high-ranking officials was going to be the strongest case that the prosecutors will have to remove her from office.

Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong explained that his view on the matter stemmed from the recordings of Duterte wherein she expressed a clear betrayal of her duty and the laws she swore to protect and preserve in assuming the second-highest position.

“Ito po sa palagay ko ang isa sa pinaka malakas na puwedeng ipresenta o maipresenta ng prosecution na talagang may violation po sa Constitution, may betrayal of public trust,” he said during a radio interview on DZMM.

(This is, for me, one of the strongest that can be presented or will be presented by the prosecution that really depicts a violation of the Constitution and a betrayal of public trust)

“At the same time, ito pong klaseng threat ay hindi ho dapat nanonormalize ito…may batas po na bawal ito, at hindi po dapat maski ordinaryong tao, maski tayong sibilyan hindi tayo dapat mag-threat o mag-banta sa kapwa niyo sibilyan,” he added

(At the same time, this type of threat should not be normalized…there are laws that prohibit this, and even as ordinary citizens, even as civilians, we should not threaten our fellow civilians)

Despite this perspective, the solon maintained that all four Articles of Impeachment that were unanimously approved by the House Committee on Justice were all sufficient enough and had substantial proof.

Spokespersons for House Prosecution

Though not being elected as a member of the 11-lawmaker prosecution team of the House, Adiong along with Kabataan Partylist Rep. Renee Co were selected to stand as spokespersons for the group.

On that topic, Adiong acknowledged that their role was going to be very important to clarify information regarding the proceedings given that the impeachment trial of the Vice President was publicized through various platforms.

During a press conference of the House prosecutors on Tuesday, 19 May, Iloilo 3rd District Rep. Lorenz Defensor mentioned that fake news and trolls were going to be the biggest challenge faced by their team during the trial proper.

Defensor noted that disinformation was going to be a hurdle that they must overcome in what he described as the “biggest step” in seeking accountability from public officials that are accused of committing unlawful practices.

To combat the issue, Adiong said that they were eyeing to conduct regular press briefings so that media personnel would be able to relay accurate information to the public.

The solon emphasized that impeachment was a process wherein all eyes were closely watching the events unfold, the dissemination of precise and detailed explanations was needed for the public to formulate opinions on the case that were based on facts.

“Mukhang sa panahon ngayon dahil ating taong bayan ay talagang invested so much on the impeachment process…mukhang gusto ng taong bayan na regular yung information nare-receive nila mula sa actual na trial,” he said.

(It seems that in this day and age, because the people are really so invested on the impeachment process…it seems that the public wants to receive regular information from the actual trial)

With the Senate officially convening as an impeachment court on Monday, 18 May, the Vice President was summoned and asked to submit a formal reply to the impeachment articles.

This morning, Duterte’s camp confirmed receipt of the orders, officially marking the start of the non-extendable period wherein they are mandated to issue a response.