‘Senate ready if VP Sara attends impeach trial’

MANILA, Philippines — Will Vice President Sara Duterte show up at the Senate today for her impeachment trial?

In case she does, the Senate is ready for her arrival and has already made all necessary preparations.

“Under the rules, she can just send a lawyer and even a representative. Inviting her is part of the process. But we’re preparing for everything. If our Vice President is going to the Senate, we are prepared and we have already coordinated with the police,” Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian told radio dzBB yesterday.

Gatchalian acknowledged the possibility that the Vice President would signify her attendance at the last minute before the impeachment court, hence the preparations.

On the first day of the trial today, Gatchalian said he expects that only preliminaries would be tackled. The prosecution and defense will deliver their opening statements and the impeachment court will tackle matters raised in the pre-trial conference.

The actual trial, which includes the presentation of witnesses and evidence, will start on July 7, Gatchalian said.

He expects all senator-judges from both the majority and minority blocs, except for detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who is suspended for 90 days, and fugitive Ronald dela Rosa to be present during the opening of trial at 2 p.m. today.

Gatchalian, who will sit as the presiding officer of the impeachment court, said they are preparing for all scenarios, including the possible arrest of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who is facing plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan, as well as protest rallies outside the Senate premises in connection with the impeachment trial.

The Senate President also assured the public that the upper chamber will do its best to ensure that the proceedings would be fully and easily understood by simplifying the process and explaining what is happening in layman’s terms.

Bam: All evidence must be public

For Sen. Bam Aquino, all evidence presented during the impeachment trial must be made publicly accessible so the people could be informed of the proceedings and be able to make their own assessment regarding the evidence.

In a video message, Aquino said he intends to file a motion during the first week of trial to release to the public all the evidence presented during the proceedings.

He also pointed out that impeaching an elected official is a rigorous constitutional process that requires a two-thirds vote of senator-judges.

“Impeaching an elected officer is no simple matter because it reverses what has been mandated by the voters,” he said.

House prosecutors ‘100-percent ready’

For its part, the House prosecution panel expressed its complete readiness for today’s impeachment trial, calling it the “first day toward the truth.”

Despite this, House prosecution spokesman and Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong clarified that today’s opening session would strictly focus on legal formalities and the resolution of pending matters.

These include requests to permit both public and private prosecutors to examine witnesses, to formalize the dual use of English and Filipino, and to unseal a Bureau of Internal Revenue box containing tax records tied to allegations of unexplained wealth.

Following the resolution of these preliminaries, the prosecution will immediately move to present its witnesses, focusing first on Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment.

This article accuses Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution for making grave threats against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and former speaker Martin Romualdez.

The prosecution has already submitted its initial witness list for the first three hearing days, which includes National Bureau of Investigation Bangsamoro regional director Jeremy Lotoc, NBI cyber senior agent John Mark Calilung and Legislative Security Bureau executive director Capt. Belinda Bello.

“This is not about who has the most number of witnesses, or who is the loudest. What is important is what can be proven through records, documents and testimonies,” Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua, a lead prosecutor, said yesterday.

Protest caravan

Meanwhile, Tindig Pilipinas coalition staged a symbolic relay of the four Articles of Impeachment against Duterte from the House of Representatives to the Department of Education (DepEd) main office yesterday, urging the Senate to hold her accountable during the impeachment trial.

Dubbed “Lakbay Pananagutan,” the protest caravan began at the House of Representatives in Quezon City before making stops at the Commission on Audit, the Bank of the Philippine Islands branch along Julia Vargas Avenue in Pasig and the DepEd central office.

Participants carried symbolic copies of the Articles of Impeachment while chanting, “Convict Sara now!” and “Sara Duterte, litisin.”

“We remain hopeful because it took a hard fight to reach this point. But we are only cautiously optimistic because many things can still happen in the Senate. What is important is that we continue presenting the evidence and demanding accountability from Vice President Sara Duterte,” Tindig Pilipinas co-convenor Kiko Aquino-Dee said. — Neil Jayson Servallos, Mark Ernest Villeza