Private prosecutors participating in the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte are working “pro bono,” contrary to claims that they are being paid with government funds, a trial spokesperson said.

House trial spokesperson and former congressman Robert Ace Barbers said the lawyers involved in the proceedings had volunteered their services as a form of public service to the country.

“You know, our private prosecutors, they are volunteers; they are doing it pro bono. That’s why their slogan is ‘Para sa Bayan,’” Barbers said.

Before the impeachment began, the House of Representatives selected 15 lawyers to form the private prosecutor group tasked with aiding the 11 lawmakers on the House prosecution panel.

The 11 representatives selected by House leadership were also lawyers in their own right.

More than a month into the trial, private prosecutors such as Atty. Lorna Kapunan, Atty. Armando Virgil Ligutan, and Atty. Mae Divinagracia have been visibly involved as counsel who directly examined witnesses for the first two Articles of Impeachment.

House lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro mentioned in previous briefings that not all private prosecutors would be tasked with examining witnesses, as some were given the role of assisting in preparing evidence for presentation.

Barbers, for his part, lauded the performance of the lawyers, particularly naming Divinagracia, who was concerned with the direct examination of Office of the Vice President Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio — the prosecutors’ second hostile witness.