The Senate Impeachment court would still proceed with Vice President (VP) Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial despite the delays, Senator Risa Hontiveros said.
“Nagpapatuloy po at buhay na buhay ang impeachment trial. Hindi tulad ng sinasabi ng iba,” the Senator said in an exclusive interview for Damdaming Bayan on Thursday, July 10.
Hontiveros explained that the Vice President had already submitted a 35-page Answer Ad Cautelam last month, while the House Prosecutors filed a reply shortly after. She noted that those documents were submitted within the Senate Rules on Impeachment’s given timeframe.
“Any time hanggang ngayon, pwedeng mag file ng anumang pleading ang parehong panig at ‘yan ay titimbangin at dedesisyunan ng korte naming mga Senator Judges in plenary,” Hontiveros stated.
The Senate impeachment court’s Presiding Officer, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, will announce the expected date for VP Duterte’s impeachment trial on July 29, a day after their opening session and President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos’ State of the Nation Address (SONA).
“Although actually pinaalalahanan ko nga si presiding officer na dahil nagpapatuloy ang trial ngayon, convened na ang korte. Since 12:01 PM ng June 30 ay pwede na nilang pasumpain yung mga 12 pang mga senador bilang mga senator judges,” Hontiveros said.
Meanwhile, Hontiveros said that senator judges need to weigh the submitted motions so that they can properly assess whether VP Duterte should be convicted or acquitted in the case.
“Pagkatapos niyan ay simulan na yung pag presenta ng mga ebidensya at mga witnesses sa bawat article of impeachment. ‘Yun talaga ang pagbabasehan kasi namin ng aming indibidwal na desisyon o boto pag dating ng sandali kung convict ba o acquit ba,” she explained.
“Tuloy na tuloy. Of course, iimbitahin siya [VP Duterte] na dumalo, pero kung hindi siya dadalo, itutuloy po namin yung trial. Pagbabatayan ng aming boto ng convict or acquit doon sa mga ebidensya at mga witnesses na ihaharap sa amin,” she added.
