Luistro to Padilla: Prosecution meant to be biased
The role of a prosecution panel in adversarial proceedings such as an impeachment is to be “biased” when it comes to presenting their case to convict an accused, a House prosecutor said.
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The role of a prosecution panel in adversarial proceedings such as an impeachment is to be “biased” when it comes to presenting their case to convict an accused, a House prosecutor said.
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Commenting on the remarks of Senator Robin Padilla during the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday, 22 July, public prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro said that it was not their role to defend the Vice President.
“With all due respect to senator-judge Robin Padilla, apparently 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 a respondent,” she added.
Given the setup, the solon maintained that it should be anticipated that the prosecutors had an intention to establish the guilt of the accused, underscoring that they could not be neutral on such matters.
The exchange between Luistro and Padilla took place while the senator-judge was questioning the prosecution regarding their presentation of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Atty. Melvin Matibag.
The senator criticised the prosecutors for presenting Matibag who he implied was an incompetent witness given the fact that his testimony supposedly kept on changing during the trial.
Doubling down on his remarks, the senator said, “Hopefully the prosecution can not be one-sided.”
Offering her own thoughts on the matter, private prosecutor Atty. Lorna Kapunan first took the opportunity to apologize to Padilla, stating that their group were supposedly scolded after they were “awoken” by the senator’s remarks.
“Earlier we were really awoken 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.
The lawyer, for her part, echoed the sentiment of Luistro, stressing that Senate impeachment hearings were “black and white” in the sense that standard court process was followed wherein prosecutors and the defense performed their roles.
“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 further noted that as far as a call for impartiality and neutrality was concerned, it should be directed at senator-judges, particularly as they are ultimately tasked to decide on the case based on the presentation of the adversarial parties.
On Wednesday, the prosecutors officially concluded their presentation of evidence concerning the impeachment article on grave threats against Duterte.
The trial is set to resume on 29 July, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his State of the Nation Address.
