The necessity of resolving the scandal
Among the issues Gutierrez said deserve continued public scrutiny are the allegations surrounding the flood control controversy.
Referring to the political significance of Sen. Joel Villanueva’s decisive support for Gatchalian, Gutierrez said the public should closely watch how investigations proceed.
“That’s a story that deserves further inquiry,” he said. “The public is expecting that if charges are filed, he will be one of the persons likely to be charged.”
He added that any indications that political concessions influenced investigations would undermine public trust.
“That raises questions on the credibility of the entire investigative process in relation to flood control,” he said.
Gutierrez described the prospect of multiple senators facing arrest or detention while serving as senator-judges in an impeachment court as “uncharted terrain.”
“The framers never imagined a situation where we might have as many as nine senators arrested, detained, fleeing justice or otherwise unable to participate,” he observed.
The issue, he said, extends beyond impeachment and touches other constitutional functions requiring two-thirds votes, including declarations of war.
“This is really uncharted territory,” he said. “And discussion will take up so much of the time in the next few weeks.”
For Gutierrez, impeachment has always been inherently political.
Quoting the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, he noted that impeachment is both quasi-judicial and quasi-political.
“I think it leans more towards being quasi-political under the surface,” he said. “An impeachment trial will always be largely decided by the politics of the senator-judges who participate in it.”
Still, politics should not eclipse fairness.
“Even if at the end of the day they vote according to whatever their political leanings may be, we have to remember that those political interests historically have also been influenced by the quality of the evidence that came out in these trials,” he said.
He cited the impeachment trial of the late former Chief Justice Renato Corona, in which evidence and courtroom developments shifted senators’ attitudes.
“The best that we can hope for is that politics still reflects the quality of the evidence that actually comes out in the impeachment,” he said.
Gutierrez expressed openness to having a non-lawyer preside over the impeachment trial.
“I’m a lawyer, but I don’t think it must be a lawyer who presides,” he said.
as presiding officer
The proceedings, he argued, need not resemble a highly technical courtroom.
“Maybe we should have rulings based on common sense determinations because I think ultimately that’s more relatable,” he said. “Rather than dwelling on technicalities, let’s focus on getting the truth out.”
Gutierrez did not hide his frustration with the quality of political leadership.
“If you elect clowns, expect a circus,” he remarked.
Yet he tempered his criticism with a reminder that democracy ultimately reflects voters’ choices.
“In a democracy, you get the government you deserve simply because the people choose,” he said.
Challenge before Win
Gutierrez believes the election of Senator Win Gatchalian provides an opportunity to restore order after weeks of instability.
“The recent vote is a good start because it lays to rest any lingering doubts as to who is actually in charge,” he said.
But the real challenge, he added, lies ahead.
“The new leadership has to show that it can act like the adult in the room,” he said.
More than anything, Gutierrez said, the Senate needs to restore calm and professionalism.
“Win Gatchalian has to demonstrate that he can be the leader that we need at the moment — the leader who can once again reassert a sense of calm and professionalism and get the Senate to move forward,” he said.
For a lawyer who once stood at the center of partisan battles as the spokesperson for Vice President Leni Robredo, Barry Gutierrez now finds himself in a different role: interpreter, critic and educator.
And amid the noise and polarization, his message remains remarkably simple: Inject common sense into politics.
“Rather than dwelling on the technicalities, let’s focus on getting the truth out.”
