8 hours ago
2
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
May 19, 2025 | 12:35pm
MANILA, Philippines — The constitutional process of impeachment has no room for the "chaos and theatrics" favored by Vice President Sara Duterte, whose calls for a "bloodbath" trial are out of place in what should be a "truth-seeking" proceeding, two House prosecutors said on Monday, May 19.
In separate statements, members of the House prosecution team Representatives-elect Leila De Lima (ML party-list) and Lorenz Defensor (Iloilo) dismissed Duterte's remarks of wanting a combative proceeding. Instead, both congressmen-elect said they expect to hold a trial where the strength of the evidence will determine the outcome.
This comes after Duterte told reporters in a chance interview on May 16 that she had told her lawyers she was in favor of having the impeachment trial proceed, saying: "I truly want a trial because I want a bloodbath."
In the same interview, Duterte said she had no expectations for an acquittal or guilty verdict as she was "already at peace." The vice president also called Duterte and Akbayan party-list nominee Chel Diokno's addition to the prosecution team "understandable" as both have been "anti-Duterte since birth."
De Lima characterized Duterte's rhetoric as being in step with her family's "trademark" pattern of "panggugulo, kayabangan, pagiging arogante (chaos-making, arrogance, being arrogant)."
"In an impeachment trial, the only one who is on trial is the person impeached. So there can be no bloodbath," De Lima said in a statement on Sunday, May 18. "If any blood is spilled, it can only be that of the person impeached, not the prosecutors', not the senators-judges', not the administration's, not the people's."
Duterte's remarks suggest an attempt to intimidate or derail the proceedings before they even begin, the former justice secretary said in an interview with TeleRadyo on Monday, May 19.
"This is a process to find out the truth and to hold [Duterte] accountable for what was stated in the articles of impeachment. So it's not good that she is preempting the process in the Senate, as if there's guidance from her legal team to cause disruption there," De Lima said in mixed English and Filipino.
'Winner takes all' approach. Similarly, Defensor, the House deputy majority leader, has a different vision for the proceedings.
"It does not have to be a bloodbath," Defensor said in a radio interview with Radyo dzBB on Sunday. "We just want the presentation of evidence by the prosecution and defense teams to be clear."
Defensor proposed what he termed a "winner takes all" approach, where both sides present their strongest cases and allow the evidence to speak for itself.
RELATED: The allegations against VP Sara Duterte in impeachment proceedings
"I want to see that the Vice President is prepared so that if she is acquitted… it will be easy for the public to accept, easy for the 215 members of Congress who signed the impeachment complaint to accept," Defensor said.
"And hopefully, our Supreme Court won’t interfere with the impeachment. This is a purely political process," the lawmaker added.
Similarly, De Lima said the impeachment operates under clear constitutional rules that will follow a "clear process" with established protocols for the presentation of evidence.
The congressman-elect also warned that any attempt to disrupt the proceedings would face legal consequences, such as being cited in contempt.
Senate President Chiz Escudero earlier said the upper chamber needs to update its rules for impeachment as this has not been updated since the trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2011.
'No reasons' for House prosecutors to back down
Regardless of the results of the elections, De Lima said the prosecutors have no reason to lose heart and will fulfill their duty of holding Duterte accountable.
"There is no reason for us to be discouraged from our work," De Lima said. "That is our mandate. It is our duty."
The May 12 midterm elections resulted in a Senate composition that leaves Duterte's political future uncertain, with no clear voting bloc emerging to guarantee either conviction or acquittal.
The newly elected senators expected to support Duterte include re-electionists Sen. Bong Go and Sen. Bato dela Rosa, both allies of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte. Another Duterte ally, Rodante Marcoleta, also made it to the Magic 12.
Only six out of 12 candidates from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s slate secured seats. However, if Rep. Camille Villar (Las Piñas) and Sen. Imee Marcos — both of whom were endorsed by Duterte, with Imee even distancing herself from her brother’s camp — are excluded, only five of Marcos’ core allies made it to the Magic 12, compared to three from Duterte’s lineup.
At least 16 votes are needed for conviction out of 24 senator-judges and only nine required for acquittal.
— with reports by Dominique Nicole Flores and Jean Mangaluz
