House prosecutors on Wednesday defended their role in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, saying it is their duty to build a case for conviction — not to remain neutral — as they pushed back against criticism from senator-judge Robin Padilla.

Responding to Padilla’s remarks during the impeachment proceedings, House prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro said the nature of impeachment is inherently adversarial, with prosecutors tasked to prove the charges and the defense expected to refute them.

“With all due respect to Senator-Judge Robin Padilla, this impeachment trial is adversarial. That much is clear,” Luistro said during a press conference.

“The reason why there are prosecutors is to establish the case. The reason why there is a defense is to defend the innocence of the respondent,” she added.

Luistro said it should be expected that prosecutors would seek to prove the respondent’s guilt, stressing that neutrality is not their role in the proceedings.

The exchange stemmed from Padilla’s questioning of the prosecution’s presentation of National Bureau of Investigation director Melvin Matibag as a witness.

Padilla criticized the prosecution for presenting Matibag, suggesting the NBI chief lacked credibility because parts of his testimony had supposedly changed during the trial.

He later urged the prosecution to avoid being “one-sided.”

Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan, meanwhile, apologized to Padilla for what she described as an unintended display of disrespect after the senator rebuked the prosecution panel during the hearing.

“Earlier we were really awakened and we were all told off in the front row. So may I use this opportunity to apologize to Senator-Judge Robin. There was no intent to disrespect him,” Kapunan said.

Kapunan echoed Luistro’s position, saying impeachment proceedings follow the same adversarial framework as ordinary court cases.

“The prosecution is really for the prosecution, and the defense is for the defense. As we say, it is the nature of the beast,” she said.

Luistro added that calls for impartiality should instead be directed at the senator-judges, who are constitutionally tasked with deciding the case based on the evidence presented by both sides.

The prosecution on Wednesday formally concluded the presentation of evidence on Article IV, which accuses Duterte of making grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

The impeachment trial will resume on 29 July, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his State of the Nation Address.