House prosecutors to Zubiri: Sara Duterte's impeachment is far from a witch hunt

MANILA, Philippines — House prosecutors slammed Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri for likening the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte to a “witch hunt.” 

Rep. Lorenz Defensor (Iloilo, 3rd District) said on Tuesday, July 8, that a senator-judge should not be spewing politically charged and opinionated statements on the impeachment, let alone dismissing the case as a mere way to oust Duterte from office. 

“It’s very unbecoming of a senator-judge in an impeachment trial to say that the impeachment complaint and the trial is a witch hunt,” the House prosecutor said in an ambush interview. 

Defensor warned Zubiri against politicizing the process, saying he should adopt a dispassionate stance and treat the impeachment as a serious constitutional process, not a campaign ploy for the 2028 elections.

What Zubiris said. “Of course, I have some biases. I think that it is a witch hunt because they want to remove her from public service para 'yung iba makaupo. At ‘yung iba ay mawawalan ng kandidato na kalaban pagdating sa halalan ng 2028,” Zubiri said at a July 7 press conference.

(Of course, I have some biases. I think it is a witch hunt because they want to remove her from public service so others can take her place. And some will be left without a rival candidate in the 2028 elections.)

Defensor explained that senator-judges should practice cold neutrality and refrain from issuing premature statements when the trial has not begun yet and evidence has not been presented. 

“Pakinggan muna natin ‘yung ebidensya bago tayo magsalita. Even as a prosecutor, I did not prejudge a conviction or an acquittal. … Dapat pakinggan niyo [ang ebidensya] before calling it a witch hunt,” he said.

(Let’s listen to the evidence first before we speak. Even when I was a prosecutor, I never prejudged a conviction or an acquittal.… You should hear the evidence first before calling it a witch hunt.)

No harassment, persecution

Any more statements like Zubiri’s may tarnish the credibility of the impeachment trial, he added. 

“It affects the people’s perception of how the case will go about and how the trial will proceed. It’s telegraphing how they want the case to be decided early on, even before the evidence is presented,” Defensor said.

Meanwhile, Rep. Leila De Lima (ML Party-list) described Zubiri’s remark as an insult to the impeachment process and the civil society groups who filed complaints against the vice president. 

If this were truly a witch hunt, she said, it would involve harassment and baseless persecution, which is not the case, as Duterte is facing allegations backed by evidence.

“Ang ibig sabihin ng witch hunt, walang batayan. Para lang mang-harass, para lang i-persecute ka. Which is far from the very character of this impeachment trial. So sana they avoid comments na ganyan, which exhibit their personal biases,” she added.

(A witch hunt means there’s no basis, it’s just meant to harass or persecute you. That’s far from the very character of this impeachment trial. So I hope they avoid comments like that, which exhibit their personal biases.)

What went before

The House impeached Duterte in February with 215 members signing the fourth impeachment complaint, more than the required one-third threshold.

“So galing ito sa tao na bumoto sa more than 215 members of Congress who represented Filipinos. Kaya hindi ito witch hunt,” Defensor said. 

(This comes from the people who voted for the more than 215 members of Congress representing Filipinos. That’s why this isn’t a witch hunt.)

It has been five months since the articles of impeachment were transmitted to the Senate, and yet the trial has remained on hold amid debates on procedural matters.  

So far, the impeachment court has only issued a writ of summons to Duterte, to which she responded with an answer ad cautelam. The House prosecution has since submitted its reply, countering each of the vice president’s arguments.

Defensor said the prosecutors are confident in the merits of the impeachment case and the evidence they intend to present.

“I’m so glad that we filed a very good, well-written and authoritative reply para makita kung gaano katatag ‘yung kaso at sana mailatag natin sa publiko,” he added.

(I’m so glad that we filed a very good, well-written, and authoritative reply to show how strong the case is, and I hope we can lay it out clearly to the public.)

The impeachment trial hangs in the balance, with some senator-judges supporting dismissal even before proceedings begin, including Duterte’s own motion that others are inclined to entertain.