Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon reiterated that the criminal case against Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte filed before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court is separate from the impeachment proceedings before the Senate.

Fadullon said that whatever is going on before the Senate impeachment trial is different from the case they have now since it is before the Regional Trial Court.

However, Fadullon said the Department of Justice (DOJ) would leave it to the court to determine how to dispose of the criminal case, including whether the charges may proceed despite Duterte being an impeachable officer.

“That’s why we leave it to the ruling of the court how it will dispose the same whether it believes that the charges can be sustained even if the accused in this case is an impeachable officer,” Fadullon said.

To recall, DOJ spokesperson Atty. Polo Martinez said the Senate, which is hearing the impeachment case, exercises its authority as the impeachment court, while the criminal case remains under the jurisdiction of the regular courts.

He said they know that the impeachment proceedings are under the domain of the legislature at present, as the Senate and the senators are the judges.

“But procedurally speaking, the conduct of the criminal case in the QC RTC should not be affected by the ongoing impeachment proceedings. That applies vice versa to the ongoing impeachment trial,” added Martinez.

The DOJ spokesperson said the two cases may proceed independently because they involve different proceedings and evidence.

“As far as we know, procedurally, they can proceed with distinct and separate proceedings,” he said.

“What happened in the impeachment proceeding is different from what was done in the trial,” Martinez added.

He said that even in the preliminary investigation, the evidence that was laid was different from what was released in the impeachment proceeding.

Thus, it is not accurate to say that one proceeding affected the other, Martinez said.

On the other hand, Fadullon said nothing bars the DOJ from prosecuting the Vice President before the regular courts despite her status as an impeachable officer.

He revealed this, saying the criminal case against Duterte before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court is separate from the impeachment proceedings against her before the Senate.