"Maletang walang laman," says Ridon
VICE President Sara Z. Duterte’s formal answer to the Articles of Impeachment gave no new defense, failed to answer key allegations point by point, and should not stop the Senate impeachment trial from proceeding, House impeachment prosecutor Terry Ridon of Bicol Saro Party-list said.
Ridon, chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, said the prosecution panel is ready to reply and present the evidence in trial.
“Nabasa naman na nating yung answer, again it is a rehash of the non-answer in the House Justice proceedings, so wala itong inilatag na bago,” Ridon said in an ambush interview.
He said Duterte’s answer failed to address factual matters already discussed during the House Justice Committee proceedings.
“Kung yan ang laman ng kanila pong answer then we will reply accordingly hopefully within the week,” Ridon said.
Ridon said the defense may have submitted a polished filing, but it lacked substance.
“Medyo maganda ang maleta nila at ito ay maleta na walang laman dahil katulad nang sabi ko nga parang wala naman silang sinagot point per point,” Ridon said.
He pointed to Duterte’s alleged threats against the President as one of the clearest gaps in the answer.
“Very evident hindi nila masyadong tinalakay yung threats against the President,” Ridon said.
“This is an article that is clearly within the term of the Vice President and this was in full public view. Ibig sabihin the evidence would speak for itself because it is a video documentation of a press conference made by her. The threat was made by her for the entire nation to see,” he added.
Ridon rejected attempts to keep the case trapped in constitutional and jurisdictional arguments, saying the impeachment process has already moved forward.
“I think the constitutional question train has long left the station,” Ridon said.
“Tingin ko di tayo aabot sa Senado kung relevant pa rin ang question on constitutionality. So, I think talagang tuloy na tuloy ang proseso ng impeachment trial. We will proceed to pre-trial at the middle of the month. We will go to trial on the 6th of July,” he said.
He also said a motion to dismiss has no place in the Senate impeachment rules.
“Wala sa rules yung motion to dismiss. Ang pinag-uusapan lang dito maglitis, mag-convict o mag-acquit,” Ridon said.
He said the prosecution remains confident because the case will be decided on evidence.
“Sa totoo lang, from the very beginning ang tingin po ng prosecution panel wala talaga silang depensa kahit ano,” Ridon said.
“So basically the case will rise and fall on the strength of the prosecution evidence and I have great confidence on the prosecution evidence. We have seen it over the course of a month. Ito pong lahat na linatag na dokumento during the House justice proceedings and this is the same set of evidence that will be used to convict the VP,” he said.
On Duterte’s claim that the alleged threat was taken out of context, Ridon said the prosecution will present the matter before the Senate impeachment court.
“I think the context will be determined by the Senate impeachment court itself, so we will present it at the level of the court and we will leave it to the Senate judges to decide whether the comment was taken actually out of context but as far as we’re concerned, that is not out of context, that was made not just once but several times against the President,” Ridon said.
Ridon also appealed to the Senate to resolve quorum issues before the trial proper.
“Syempre nag-susumamo din po kami sa Senado that the matter on the matter of quorum will be resolved in the soonest time, it is for them to resolve as an independent institution pero meron din po kasi real impact po ito pong absent of quorum to conduct business dun po sa Senate Impeachment court,” Ridon said.
“Kasi for the Senate impeachment court to convene a quorum is required so hopefully when we get to the trial proper itself, the question on quorum will be resolved by the Senate as a body both by the majority and the minority,” he said.
Ridon said the prosecution expects the impeachment timetable to continue.
“As far as we are concerned, tuloy pa rin ang timelines na pinag-usapan, pre-trial conference, pre-trial submissions na nagagawin ng mga partido, tuloy pa rin at tuloy pa rin ang July 6 trial proper,” Ridon said.
“Ang inaasahan namin paglapag ng July 6, tuloy yung trial, tuloy yung paglilitis ng ating pangalawang pangulo,” Ridon added.
