Members of the House Prosecutors have formally sent their manifestation concerning the response of Vice President Sara Duterte to the Articles of Impeachment filed against her before the Senate.
House Lead Prosecutor Gerville Luistro said that their statement had been delivered by the House Secretariat to the newly-elected Secretary of the Senate Renaldo Bantug at 11:15 a.m. this Monday, 8 June.
Through the statement, the lawmakers argued that Duterte’s answer did not mention any “material factual issue” which would require a requisite feedback on their part as prosecutors of the impeachment trial.
“It does not meaningfully engage the factual allegations in the Articles of Impeachment, but instead concentrates on procedural, jurisdictional, and constitutional objections directed against the continuation of the proceedings,” the manifestation read.
“The answer does not function as a genuine response to the charges, but as an attempt to secure the outright dismissal of the impeachment case on threshold constitutional and procedural grounds,” it added.
The solons also reiterated that an outcome of a “dismissal” with regards to the case did not necessarily abide by the Senate Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials that only recognize two resolutions–conviction or acquittal.
Akbayan Partylist Rep. Chel Diokno said that before discussions concerning the decision on the case of the Vice President should be deliberated, a trial must first be conducted so that both the defense and the prosecution could present their arguments.
“Kaya po hindi na po kami nag-file ng reply dahil wala namang bagong factual allegations na kailangang sagutin, ang kailangan ngayon ay litisin na agad ang kaso na ito at kami naman po sa hanay ng prosecution ay handang-handa na mag presenta ng ebidensya,” Diokno mentioned.
Luistro echoed this sentiment asserting that their group was now focused on the submission of the pre-trial brief where a timeline of how the trial would be carried out as well as the lists of witnesses and evidence are marked as exhibits for presentation.
The Batangas representative said that based on the schedule provided under the leadership of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, the pre-trial brief was scheduled for 15 June while a pre-trial conference was set for 18 June.
However, she noted that the dates mentioned were not necessarily official as they have yet to be provided with an official notice from the Senate.
Under the Articles of Impeachment, Duterte was alleged to have committed impeachable offenses through her misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery of public servants, and verbal threats towards high-ranking officials.
These allegations were similar to the impeachment articles that were also provided to the Senate during the 19th Congress where the Vice President was impeached for the first time at the House of Representatives.
On 11 May, Duterte was impeached with a resounding 257 affirmative votes, over a hundred more than the constitutionally required turnout of one-third of House members.