Any potential backlash, character attacks, or background checks directed at them during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will have no effect on their work, members of the newly announced House private prosecution team said.
Introduced during a press conference on Thursday, 11 June, lawyers from three different law firms acknowledged that the public would likely scrutinize their personal and professional histories in attempts to discredit them, ridicule them, or highlight past controversies during the impeachment proceedings.
Representing Kapunan & Castillo Law Offices, Atty. Lorna Patajo-Kapunan said criticism is nothing new to her, having practiced law for nearly 50 years.
Throughout her career, she has served as legal counsel for several public figures, including Atong Ang, James Yap, Hayden Kho, Rhian Ramos, and, most notably, Janet Lim-Napoles, who was accused of orchestrating the pork barrel scam.
Kapunan said what matters most is entering the proceedings with a clear conscience and a commitment to assisting the House prosecution panel.
“It does not matter if we are hit personally for all the wrong or right things I’ve done in the past. What matters here is that we are useful — that we will be useful in supporting or aiding our public prosecutors in presenting a strong, fair, and evidence-based case,” she said.
“So the direct answer to the question is: bring it on,” she added.
Echoing Kapunan’s sentiments, Atty. Amando Virgil Ligutan of SALiGAL Law underscored that any attacks on their public image pale in comparison to the significance of serving as prosecutors in the impeachment trial.
Ligutan said the proceedings could set an important precedent for the country and its justice system by demonstrating that no public official, regardless of rank or position, is beyond accountability.
“The scrutiny, the fake news, the memes that will be created attacking us will be nothing compared to the honor of being part of the private prosecution team that will prosecute the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte,” he said.
Before joining the private prosecution panel, Ligutan served as legal counsel to one of the two complainants whose complaints were consolidated into the four Articles of Impeachment.
Meanwhile, Atty. Marforth Fua of Pecabar Law said they would approach the case against Duterte as they would any other legal matter entrusted to them.
According to Fua, the team remains focused solely on fulfilling its mandate in the impeachment proceedings.
“To us, this is just like any other legal work that we have handled and continue to handle. This is nothing personal. We were given a job, we were given an objective, and we will simply fulfill that objective in this case,” he said.
Fua and Pecabar Law have longstanding ties to Philippine politics. Fua previously served as assistant presidential legal counsel to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. under Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile.
He maintained, however, that his previous service in the administration played no role in their participation in the impeachment trial, noting that they were invited by the House prosecutors themselves.
The three lawyers are part of the 10 attorneys introduced by House prosecutors Gerville Luistro and Chel Diokno as the first batch of private prosecutors who will assist in the trial.
The seven other lawyers introduced were Erwin Matib, Justine Anne Lamarca, James Bryan Ibrahim Alih, Sonya Margarita Benemerito-Castillo, Deana Melissa Lorenzo-Singian, Lino Chris Kapunan, and Bettina Zamora.
Luistro said additional lawyers who will serve as private prosecutors in the proceedings will be introduced at a later date.
