By Jose Cielito Reganit
MANILA – All 318 members of the House of Representatives will be given sufficient time to read the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte before the plenary vote expected on May 11, Justice Committee chairperson Gerville Luistro of Batangas said Tuesday.
In a radio interview, Luistro said this is both a matter of due process and a requirement under the Supreme Court’s (SC) ruling on the first impeachment bid.
“Ang sabi nila diyan (The SC said that), before the plenary vote, the House members should be provided with a copy of the committee report, the resolution, and the articles of impeachment, most especially the articles of impeachment and the attached evidence,” she said.
“They should be given (a) reasonable time to read and study the same before the plenary vote. That’s part of due process,” she added.
The Justice panel unanimously approved, in a 55-0 vote, the committee report containing the consolidated articles of impeachment on Monday, based on the two complaints found to have probable cause on April 29.
The report was routed to the Bills and Index and is expected to be included in the Committee on Rules’ agenda on Tuesday.
Luistro explained that once the Committee on Rules refers the articles of impeachment to the plenary, copies will be transmitted to all 318 members, the Vice President as respondent, and the complainants.
“After pang mai-refer ng Rules (After the Rules committee referred it) back to the plenary, the plenary should order, should direct the Secretary General to provide copies to all the House members,” she said.
From that point, they will have five days to read and study the document and its attached evidence, putting the plenary vote on track for May 11.
“So, if that will happen today, then we have Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I think five days is a reasonable period for the House members to be able to read and study,” Luistro said.
“From my perspective as the justice chair, given the five-day period na ibibigay natin (given) to the House members to study, I think by May 11, the plenary should be ready to vote,” she added.
Meanhile, Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor of Iloilo, a member of the Justice panel, also said the impeachment process takes time for a reason.
As the constitutionally mandated body to initiate impeachment cases, the House must have all the facts on the allegations laid before it when the plenary votes – the evidence cited by the complainants, the findings from the clarificatory hearings, and any official responses, rebuttals, or counter-evidence from the respondent.
“Sadyang matagal ang proseso ng impeachment kasi dapat mabigyan ng pagkakataon na mailatag ang ebidensya para magkaroon kami ng sapat na batayan para makaboto ng intelihente at bigyan din ng pagkakataon ang mga respondent, katulad ng vice president, na kung gusto niya sumagot ay may panahon at pagkakataon siya sumagot (The impeachment process is, on purpose, very long because there should be enough time to present the evidence for us to have ample basis to vote intelligently, as well as to give the respondents, like the Vice President, time to respond to the allegations if she wants to),” he said in the same radio interview.
By giving the respondent another opportunity to respond, Defensor said Duterte could still have her impeachment case dismissed before it even reaches the Senate trial, “that is, if she presents enough evidence debunking the allegations.”
However, he also noted that the Vice President was given that same opportunity during the Justice Committee’s hearings and yet refused to take it.
“It’s always part of due process; nonetheless, the Vice President was given every opportunity to attend and to debunk,” Defensor said.
He also noted that with 55 votes already secured from Justice committee members, only 51 more are needed to reach the one-third threshold required to impeach Duterte.
Defensor said he is confident the numbers are there on the sole basis that the evidence is clear, and Duterte’s repeated refusal to defend herself despite multiple opportunities only strengthens the case. (PNA)
