House Committee on Justice Chairperson and Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro was tagged as the lead public prosecutor in the upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte that will be held at the Senate.
The role of Luistro in the proceedings was made known through the formal entry of appearance letter that the prosecution team submitted to the upper house this Monday, 18 May.
To recall, the House prosecution team was comprised of the following lawmakers:
Luistro
Dinagat Island Rep. Kaka Bag-ao
Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua
Iloilo 3rd District Rep. Lorenz Defensor
Mamamayang Liberal Partylist Rep. Leila de Lima
Akbayan Partylist Rep. Chel Diokno
Bukidnon 2nd District Rep. Keith Flores
1-Rider Partylist Rep. Rodge Gutierrez
Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon
Cagayan de Oro 1st District Rep. Lordan Suan
San Juan Rep. Ysabel Zamora
Luistro, along with representatives Chua, Defensor, Flores, Gutierrez, and Zamora were all part of Duterte's previous impeachment that was subsequently archived due to violations of the Constitution.
The 11-member group is tasked with prosecuting the case of Duterte through the presentation of evidence and witnesses while in an effort to prove the latter’s guilt of the allegations lodged in the Articles of Impeachment.
From two complaints, it was consolidated into four articles by the Justice panel where the Vice President was alleged to have committed impeachable offenses through her unexplained wealth, misuse of confidential funds, bribery of public servants, and grave threats towards high-ranking officials.
The group was announced a day after the Vice President was impeached from the House with a vote of 257-25-9 last 11 May.
In a related development, the Senate officially convened as an impeachment court and has summoned Duterte to issue a response within a 10 day period regarding the complaints.
From there, the prosecutors would be given five days to submit a reply of their own before the impeachment could formally proceed to a trial.