HOUSE prosecutor and Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon on Saturday expressed confidence that the House prosecution panel would secure the votes needed to convict Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, insisting that the outcome of the impeachment trial will be determined by the evidence rather than by political alignments or leadership changes in the Senate.
Speaking at the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City, Ridon said the prosecution remains convinced it can obtain the 16 votes required for conviction regardless of recent developments in the upper chamber.
“Our confidence on convicting the Vice President is not based on the numbers of the Senate or the leadership of the Senate. Our confidence on convicting the Vice President is based on the evidence itself,” said Ridon, who also chairs the House Committee on Public Accounts.
He said the prosecution’s confidence is anchored on what it considers a strong body of documentary, financial and testimonial evidence, including reports from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), findings of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), banking records and other documents that will be presented before the senator-judges.
“So on the AMLA reports, on the NBI reports, on each and every piece of evidence that is there for the senator-judges to see during trial proper,” he said.
Ridon maintained that changes in Senate leadership would not affect the prosecution’s ability to secure a conviction.
“So pagpalit man o hindi, we’re certain that we will be able to muster the numbers to convict the vice president. We will get to 16, irrespective of who the leadership was or who the leadership is,” he said.
He also expressed confidence that senators from both sides of the current divide in the Senate would ultimately be persuaded by the evidence presented during the trial.
“Ang pagtitiwala naman namin, kapag po nailatag nang maayos yung lahat ng ebidensya laban sa pangalawang pangulo, tingin ko marami namang pong makukumbinsi on both sides of both the new majority and the new minority to convict the vice president,” Ridon said.
The lawmaker downplayed the significance of the Senate leadership dispute from the perspective of the House prosecution panel.
“I think it’s an extraneous matter that doesn’t concern the prosecution panel,” he said.
“So whoever the presiding officer is, I think it doesn’t really matter to the panel itself,” Ridon said.
Ridon stressed that the prosecution’s task remains the same regardless of who presides over the impeachment court.
“Kasi ang totoo naman, we will still have to convince each and every senator-judge in the course of the proceedings,” he said.
“The magic number is still 16, irrespective of who the Senate President is, irrespective of who the presiding officer is.”
The House prosecution panel is currently finalizing its witnesses and documentary evidence while conducting mock trials for each article of impeachment in preparation for the proceedings.
The Articles of Impeachment accuse Duterte of misusing confidential funds, amassing unexplained wealth, engaging in bribery, and threatening top government officials.
Pre-trial proceedings before the Senate impeachment court are expected in mid-June, while the formal impeachment trial is scheduled to begin on July 6.
