House prosecution in VP Duterte impeachment tapped trial lawyers 鈥� solon
VP Sara Duterte composite image from Inquirer, AP file photos
MANILA, Philippines — Despite a continued refusal to name names, Iloilo 3rd District Rep. Lorenz Defensor has divulged that some of the private lawyers tapped by the House prosecution for Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial have prior experience with similar proceedings.
In an online interview on Wednesday, Defensor said the lawyers who have helped him and the rest of the House prosecution team are practicing lawyers who have “experience in previous impeachments.”
“They are practicing lawyers and litigators who’ve had experience in previous impeachments. That’s as far as I can go. So at least they have experience in impeachment trial,” said Defensor, one of the lawmakers tapped to form part of the prosecution team.
“Some of them are returning to help and volunteer,” he added.
So far in the country’s history, there have been several successful impeachments of high-ranking officials, but there were only two cases that have made it to a Senate trial — that of former President Joseph Estrada and the late Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Estrada was accused of bribery, graft, and corruption in the impeachment complaint, while Corona was convicted for not disclosing his wealth in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth.
Until now, both the House leadership and the prosecution team have been tight-lipped regarding the set of private lawyers helping build the case against Duterte.
Last March 19, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco disputed reports that DivinaLaw, one of the more prominent law firms in the country, was tapped by the prosecution team to help them.
READ: DivinaLaw not part of House prosecution team in VP trial — Velasco
Velasco clarified this after news reports came out that he supposedly confirmed the law firm’s engagement during an interview while visiting the Senate for an ocular inspection.
The House official did not mention the news report, but the Philippine Daily Inquirer ran a story stating that Velasco and their sources indicated that DivinaLaw would be leading the group of private prosecutors.
READ: Lawyers helping House impeach team ‘experienced,’ ‘angry’
According to Defensor, he respects the decision of the prosecution panel, but he does not understand why the identities of the volunteer lawyers have to be withheld.
Furthermore, the lawmaker said it would be the lead prosecutor, House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, who would reveal the names of the private prosecutors.
“For me, it’s okay for them to come out in the open so that the private sector, which includes the private prosecution team, can also have a voice in this impeachment process. Especially with the media, right? So you would also get a sense of how they feel as a private citizen,” Defensor said.
“I’ll leave it to the lead prosecutor when he decides on that. We have communications between the different teams, articles, but with respect to when the private prosecutors can come out openly, I’ll leave that to the lead prosecutor,” he added.
Last February 5, Duterte was impeached by the House after 215 lawmakers filed and verified the fourth impeachment complaint hinged on several issues like alleged misuse of confidential funds lodged within her offices, threats to ranking officials including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and conduct unbecoming of a vice president.
The articles of impeachment were immediately transmitted to the Senate as the 1987 Constitution requires a trial to start “forthwith” if at least one-third of all House members — in this case, 102 out of 306 — have signed and endorsed the petition.
Under the Constitution, the Senate will act as an impeachment court, with sitting senators as judges.
READ: House impeaches VP Sara Duterte, fast-tracking transmittal to Senate
However, the trial has yet to start as the petition was not forwarded to the Senate plenary before the session ended on February 5. It means Congress would have to reconvene first after the election or through a special session to discuss the matter.
Defensor previously said that they hope the impeachment trial would start immediately as the Constitution states, but he also said that they would respect the Senate’s decision regarding the timeline of the proceedings.
With the long wait for the trial, the prosecutors conceded that they would just use the available time to prepare and educate the public as to why Duterte was impeached.
