THE filing of the prosecution’s pre-trial brief should bring the impeachment case against Vice President Zara Z. Duterte into a stricter stage where allegations, defenses and public claims are tested through proof, procedure and due process.
Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V of La
Union issued the statement after the House prosecution panel submitted its pre-trial brief before the Senate impeachment court, saying the process should now be anchored on documents, witnesses and clear issues rather than side arguments and political spin.
“Isang hakbang pa ito papalapit sa katotohanan at pananagutan,” Ortega stressed.
“Sa ganitong proseso, ang kailangang tingnan ay ebidensya, batas at ang pagkakataon ng magkabilang panig na maipresent ang kanilang kaso,” he added.
The pre-trial brief identifies the witnesses, documents and issues that the House prosecution panel intends to present in the impeachment trial of Vice President Duterte.
Duterte is facing articles of impeachment involving alleged misuse of public funds, unexplained wealth, bribery and threats against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta A. Marcos and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.
Ortega said the filing is important not only because it moves the case forward, but because it places the impeachment process under the discipline of a constitutional trial.
“Ang impeachment ay isang seryosong mekanismo ng Saligang Batas para timbangin at alamin kung may pananagutan ang isang mataas na opisyal ng bansa,” he added.
The La Union House leader said the Senate impeachment court gives the country a proper forum where the charges against Duterte can be heard, challenged and decided under rules that protect both accountability and fairness.
“Every accusation should be heard in the proper forum, in this case the Senate impeachment court. Not in FB live streams, not in social media and certainly not in fake committee hearings that lack legality and jurisdiction,” Ortega added.
Ortega said accountability loses its meaning when it is reduced to general accusations, whether against the vice president, members of Congress or any public official.
“Pareho ang dapat na pamantayan sa lahat,” Ortega maintained.
“Hindi puwedeng selective ang panawagan sa accountability. Kung seryoso tayo sa katotohanan, dapat seryoso rin tayo sa ebidensya at due process,” he added.
He said the House prosecution panel’s submission of its pre-trial brief shows that the impeachment case is now entering a stage where the strength of each side will be measured by what it can actually prove.
“Handa ang House prosecution panel na dalhin ang kaso sa prosesong itinakda ng Konstitusyon,” Ortega noted.
“Doon dapat magtagpo ang paratang, paliwanag, ebidensya at desisyon,” he added.
Ortega urged the public to follow the trial carefully, saying the country deserves a proceeding that is focused, fair and respectful of the gravity of impeaching the second-highest official of the land
