The House Prosecution panel wants to seek the guidance and enlightenment of the impeachment court after the Senate’s Sergeant-at-Arms served the writ of summons for Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday, June 11.
“Ang prosecution panel po ay nalalabuan dito sa naging order ng impeachment court kagabi, so we resolve to seek the clarification of the impeachment court. With respect to the first order, about the certification pertaining to our compliance with the Constitution in filing the impeachment complaint," House Prosecution panel member and Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro explained during a press conference the same day.
Despite this, the lawmaker stated that the House Prosecution panel would maintain its position and implied that they “fully and strictly” followed the requirements of the Constitution.
“We did not violate the one-year prohibition rule. With respect to the second order, it is impossible to be complied with, because first of all, [the] 20th Congress doesn’t exist yet,” Luistro said.
According to Luistro, the 20th Congress will officially convene on July 28, simultaneously with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Meanwhile, the lawmaker highlighted that they saw a letter on social media stating that the anticipated presentation of the Articles of Impeachment had been canceled.
“Ang sabi po ng ating presiding officer ng impeachment court, the referral of the verified complaint to the impeachment court mooted already the presentation and reading of the articles. This will be part of the clarification that we will be seeking from the impeachment court,” she said.
“Sapagkat, batid po natin na itong presentation ng articles ay bahagi ng Senate Rules on Impeachment. And we seek the guidance, we seek the enlightenment of the impeachment court so we can properly comply with the order that was issued last night,” she added.
Luistro on Receiving the Articles of Impeachment
Personally, Luistro said she would defer receiving the Articles of Impeachment from the Senate, including the other orders that would be transmitted to them.
“This is not disobedience. Definitely, ang gusto lang po natin [na] mangyari is to seek guidance and enlightenment first, so we can properly comply with the order of the impeachment court,” she emphasized.
Luistro announced they will draft the necessary motion seeking clarification on the order issued by the Senate’s impeachment court late Tuesday.
“To give way to our efforts to clarify first the order, in my opinion, I would defer receiving the Articles of Impeachment, including the order issued by the impeachment court,” she said.
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader and 4Ps Partylist Rep. Marcelino Libanan said they believe that Congress still has the power to initiate impeachment complaints.
“Kami po ay naniniwala na ang power to initiate ng impeachment complaint ay nasa House. Lalo na pag pinirmahan ito inendorse ng isang congressman at pinagbotohan sa plenaryo. Itong nangyari dito, hindi lang ito ordinaryong impeachment, [dahil] 215 of our members signed the impeachment complaint,” Libanan recalled.
“Kaya first time ito na nangyari na may return sa atin kaya’t nangangailangan tayo ng clarification po dito. Bagamat prosecutors po kami at impeachment court sila, naguguluhan pa rin kami at hindi namin maintindihan kung bakit ibabalik po ito sa amin [at] ano po yung gagawin namin,” he concluded.
Apart from Luistro and Libanan, Congressmen Joel Chua, Ysabel “Bel” Zamora, Romeo Acop, Raul Angelo “Jil” Bongalon, Ramon Rodrigo “Rodge” Gutierrez, and Jonathan Keith Flores attended the press conference.
