INIRERESPETO ng mga miyembro ng House impeachment prosecution team ang desisyon ng Senado na huwag munang aksyunan ang inihaing impeachment case ng Kamara de Representantes laban kay Vice President Sara Duterte.

“Since the Constitution provides that trial shall ‘proceed forthwith,’ if we interpret ‘forthwith (immediately, right away),’ dapat po sana as soon as possible ‘yun,” ani House Deputy Speaker at Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor, isa sa mga prosecutor, sa isang press conference ngayong Huwebes.

“Pero dahil ang Senado ay isang independent body at iginagalang natin ang kanilang independence, (Congress) being a bicameral legislature, iiwan natin ‘yan sa interpretasyon ng Senado,” dagdag pa nito.

Partikular na tinukoy ni Defensor, isang abogado, ang Section 3 (4) ng Article XI (Accountability of Public Officers) ng Konstitusyon kung saan nakasaad na: “In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by one-third of all the members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.”

Iginiit naman ni Defensor na iginagalang ng Kamara ang magiging desisyon ng Senado tungkol sa timeline ng paglilitis.

“Kung tatanungin po ninyo kung June na magbubukas at magco-convene ang Senado as an impeachment court at kakapusin ng oras, tatawid po ba ito sa susunod na Kongreso? It is possible and yes we will leave it to the Senate and to the rules of the impeachment court,” aniya.

Gayunpaman, itinuro niya na ang proseso ng impeachment at paglilitis ay sui generis o natatanging proseso na hiwalay sa legislative calendar ng Kongreso.

“Kakaiba po itong proseso and it’s not part of the legislative process. Nasa Senado po ‘yan how they interpret that and since it is not part of the legislative process, pwede po nating sabihin they can convene anytime that they are ready without waiting for session to open on June 2,” binigyang-diin niya.

“I heard the Senate President’s interview earlier this morning (Thursday) and he said that they will prepare first and we respect that. And they have to update their own rules of impeachment, and we also respect that. So, we leave it up to the Senate as a separate body and as an impartial body to be judges in the impeachment court. How they will proceed with the impeachment process,” dagdag ni Defensor.

Ibinahagi naman ni Rep. Rodge Gutierrez ng 1-Rider Party-list, isa pang miyembro ng House prosecution panel, ang mga pahayag ni Defensor tungkol sa likas na katangian ng proseso ng impeachment trial.

“It’s sui generis, a special instance of a constitutionally mandated function of Congress,” ani Gutierrez, na isa ring abogado.

Sinabi ni Gutierrez na maaaring magpatuloy ang paglilitis kahit magkaroon ng bagong miyembro ng House matapos ang eleksyon sa Mayo dahil ang Senado ay isang “continuing body.”

“As we speak, the House leadership is already preparing the impeachment secretariat so we will be prepared. If ever the Senate does indeed interpret that they could proceed with trial as early as March, we will be ready. If they decide that it will continue after June 2, we will be even more ready,” dagdag niya.

Samantala, sinabi ni Assistant Majority Leader Zia Alonto Adiong ng Lanao del Sur na ang eleksyon sa Mayo at ang posibilidad na isa o dalawang miyembro ng House prosecution panel ay hindi makasama sa darating na 20th Congress ay hindi dapat makaapekto sa impeachment trial.

“Kung meron po tayong isang kasamahan sa House of Representatives na hindi papalarin at hindi makakatuloy sa 20th Congress, if the Senate Rules on Impeachment will provide that private prosecutors can participate during the impeachment trial, then maybe they can continue as private prosecutors,” aniya.

Sa ganitong sitwasyon, sinabi ni Gutierrez na maaaring palitan ng House ang natalong miyembro ng prosecution team.

Sinabi rin ni Defensor na ang pagsisimula ng impeachment trial ni Vice President Sara Duterte sa lalong madaling panahon ay makabubuti para sa hustisya at due process.

“So, sana po maagapan ang pagsimula kasi the sooner that the evidence could be laid down, the sooner that due process can be exercised, the sooner the issues pending before us can be resolved.

So, sige po, sana po maagahan dahil handa naman ang prosecution team,” aniya.

“This is the perfect opportunity for all parties especially the Vice President. This is the perfect opportunity for her to be given due process, for a chance to lay down the evidence in her favor and to clarify things during the trial,” dagdag niya.

“I hope that this will be a good opportunity for evidence to be presented by both sides para matapos na po ang mga aligasyon at mabigyan ng liwanag ang sambayanan,” dagdag pa niya.

Ibinunyag din ni Defensor na may balak ang House na magsagawa ng kampanya sa impormasyon upang maipaliwanag sa publiko ang mga isyung sangkot sa impeachment ni VP Duterte at sa darating na paglilitis sa Senado.

“Magkakaroon tayo ng information campaign din para sa ating mga kababayan para maintindihan nila ang proseso ng impeachment to simplify it so that every citizen can understand the process. Igihan po natin na planuhin ang bawat article of impeachment, ng malatag ng simple, klaro para sa sambayanan at sa mga magiging husgado (sa Senado),” sabi ni Defensor.