The recent issues affecting the Senate between the group of senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian along with the allegations of the 18 supposed bagmen of former congressman Zaldy Co would have no effect on the House prosecution team, a solon said.

Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro expressed that members of the 11-lawmaker prosecution panel remain focused on their preparations amid the fast-approaching impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte which is expected to begin on 6 July.

Luistro noted that their group was only concerned with fulfilling their role that was prescribed under the Constitution and that they would let any internal conflicts affecting the upper house to be resolved by the senators.

“Sa kabila po ng mga commotion at issues ng leadership na nagaganap ngayon sa Senado, makakaasa po ang taong bayan na nananatili pong tapat sa Constitutional duty ang 11 prosecutors ng House of Representatives,” she said.

(Despite the commotion and leadership issues occurring in the Senate, the public can rest assured that the 11 prosecutors from the House of Representatives remain steadfast on their Constitutional duty)

The solon further called on the senators at the upper house to set aside their differences in order for the “long-awaited” impeachment of the Vice President to finally proceed “forthwith” as indicated in Philippine law.

“Sa lahat po ng ating mga kasama sa panunungkulan dun sa Senado, sana maging maayos na…let us all be faithful to the Constitutional mandate, trial forthwith, maliwanag po ito at ito po ang matagal ng hinihintay ng sambayanang Pilipino,” she expressed.

(To all of our fellow lawmakers at the Senate, hopefully the issues get resolved. Let us all be faithful to the Constitutional mandate, trial forthwith, this is clear and the Filipinos have been long waited for this)

Credibility undeterred

Aside from the issues affecting the Senate itself, on Thursday, 4 June, a Senate Blue Ribbon hearing was conducted by the Cayetano bloc where the 18 bodyguards of Co once again aired their allegations in relation to the multibillion peso flood control scandal.

Based on their joint affidavit, the group testified to delivering luggages of cash, what they described as “maletas,” to numerous public officials and figures in the country including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Among the alleged recipients of cash were some members of the prosecution team elected in the impeachment trial of Duterte, namely Luistro, Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima, Manila Rep. Joel Chua, and Ako Bicol Rep. Terry Ridon.

Each of the solons have since disputed the claims as politically-motivated and had no sufficient basis to back up the claims.

Asked if she thought the allegations would have an impact on the public’s perception on them as prosecutors, Luistro answered that she did not think that the baseless accusations would influence their credibility

“I honestly believe that hindi naapektuhan ang credibility ng 11 prosecutors…We maintain integrity and honesty in the discharge of our function as public servants,”

House Prosecution Team spokesperson and Kabataan Partylist Rep. Renee Co echoed the sentiment, asserting that it was evident that the public did not fully believe the 18 supposed bagmen and were very critical of their testimonies.

“Nakita natin ang reaksyons ng mamamayan sa naging hearing at testimonies ng witnesses from the 18 ex marines and safe to say na ang karamihan ng mga tao doon na nagreact ay kinwestyon ang credibility ng mga witnesses,” Co said.

(We saw the reactions of the public to the hearing and the testimonies of the 18 ex marines and safe to say that most people that reacted to the claims questioned the credibility of the witnesses)

Where the House goes, the Prosecution team follows

One of the more intriguing topics of discussions in light of the Senate leadership woes has been how the prosecution would approach the trial given the possible notices from both the Cayetano and Gatchalian blocs that may be issued.

To this, Luistro noted that any actions that they would take would be in line with who the House of Representatives recognized as the true leader of the Senate–in this case, Gatchalian.

“If the position of the House of Representatives is in favor of the legitimacy of the leadership of acting SP Gatchalian then it follows that it would be their notices and orders that we will follow. We will appear to their notices of proceedings,” she explained.

Following the “coup” that elected Gatchalian into the leadership role of the upper house, House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy had released a statement congratulating the senator, declaring his hope that the chamber could finally tend to its legislative functions.

As for the notices, however, Luistro said that they have yet to receive any official communication from the Senate but remains confident that they will receive such documents within the week.