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MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives will continue its impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte next month despite a petition filed before the Supreme Court by her supporters.
San Juan Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora said the move was expected, noting that Duterte’s legal camp is merely exhausting available remedies.
“Of course, we expected that, and we felt that they were going to file a petition before the SC. I mean, she (Duterte) has her lawyers, and it is just natural for the lawyers to exhaust all remedies available to them,” Zamora said yesterday over ANC.
The lawmaker said the House committee on justice, chaired by Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, will proceed in line with the 1987 Constitution and House impeachment rules.
“What will happen next is the continuation of the proceedings before the committee on justice, where we will have a hearing, as stated under the Constitution and as stated in the rules of impeachment of the House. So we will proceed with a hearing,” she said.
The panel began clarificatory hearings on March 25 after finding two impeachment complaints filed by Fr. Joel Saballa and lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera sufficient in form, substance and grounds.
The justice panel is currently determining probable cause – the final step before a case may be transmitted to the Senate for trial.
Hearings are scheduled on April 14, 22 and 29, ahead of Congress’ session resumption on May 4.
Zamora said she believes there is enough support within the House to sustain the impeachment case but emphasized that the outcome will ultimately depend on the evidence presented.
For her part, Luistro said the hearings are necessary to establish the truth behind the allegations.
“To be able to do that, there should be a proper hearing that will be conducted. We should see the evidence. We should also be able to hear the testimony of the witnesses. There will be a presentation of evidence and witness before the justice committee,” she said.
Luistro clarified that the proceedings at the committee level differ from a Senate trial.
“The real thing that’s happening in the justice committee is a hearing proper, a clarificatory hearing, a determination of probable cause and this is different, apart from the trial that will happen in the Senate,” she explained.
The Batangas representative also urged that any petition filed before the SC should be based on the committee’s actual proceedings rather than terminology used in public statements.
“I think it is totally wrong to base it on the name, on the nomenclature, or on the label. Again, the correct basis to judge the constitutionality of the proceeding is the actions which the committee is actually doing for the purpose of responding to the requirements of the rules of impeachment,” she said.
“A clarificatory hearing akin to a preliminary investigation whose purpose is to determine only probable cause defined as justification to be able to proceed to trial,” Luistro added.
Lawyer Israelito Torreon, a political ally of Duterte, filed the petition before the SC seeking a temporary restraining order.
Duterte has distanced herself from the petition, although she could benefit if the high court issues a halt to the proceedings.
Not opposed
Meanwhile, the defense team of the Vice President said it would not oppose the elevation of the impeachment case to the Senate if the House decides to proceed.
In an interview with Unang Hirit, defense team spokesman Michael Poa reacted to Zamora’s claim that there are enough votes to support the impeachment case.
Poa said they have not discussed the matter but maintained their position: “If they have the numbers then why is there a need for hearings? If they already have the numbers and they want to elevate (the impeachment case to the Senate), we will not object, that is within their power, to vote for it… We are ready, just like we were ready last year.”
He also said the Vice President and her defense team are not delaying the proceedings despite not participating in the House committee on justice hearings.
“We do not want to make it appear that we are trying to suppress anything here… There is a proper time for everything, a proper forum for everything… We are just pointing out what we feel is an infringement to the rights of clients. If they want to fast-track the voting in the plenary, we would not oppose that,” Poa added.
The defense team earlier accused the House committee of conducting a “fishing expedition” for seeking information beyond the evidence attached to the complaints.
Poa said that subpoenaing Duterte’s statement of assets, liabilities and net worth covering her tenure as vice mayor and mayor of Davao City would be irrelevant and contrary to an SC ruling that impeachable offenses should only cover acts committed while holding an impeachable office.
He also clarified that he was not consulted by Torreon’s group regarding the petition filed before the SC.
“We do not want to be swayed by the arguments of other people. We are just focusing on our own defenses,” Poa said.
