BATANGAS Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro, who chairs the House Committee on Justice hearing the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, has urged her colleagues to treat the case as a duty owed to the Filipino people and not to political allies, rivals, or religious blocs, as the House moves toward the hearing proper of the case on March 25.
“Sa aking mga kasama sa House of Representatives, this impeachment process is our constitutional duty to the sovereign Filipino people. I’ve said this before and I will say it again: we do not owe our fidelity to the President, nor do we owe our fidelity to the Vice President. Wala din tayong utang sa mga religious group. Ang pinagkakautangan natin ay ang sambayanang Pilipino,” Luistro told
Atty. Lorna Kapunan and Jaime Regalario’s Laban Para sa Karapatan radio program over DWIZ over the weekend.
She followed that appeal with a blunt reminder that the stakes, in her view, go beyond institutional courtesy or political caution.
“So let us be honest in our duty to the sovereign Filipino people in hearing this impeachment complaint and later on in voting on this impeachment complaint, because what is at stake is the future of the country,” Luistro said.
Luistro framed the impeachment process not as a criminal prosecution, where each element of a statutory offense must be proved, but as a constitutional inquiry into whether a public official remains fit to continue in office.
I think we should remember that the impeachment is meant to test the fitness of the public official to continue in this position. And fitness as well to run for any public office in the future,” she said.
That distinction, she argued, is critical to understanding why impeachment cannot be measured by the same standards used in ordinary criminal complaints.
So if we are talking about criminal prosecution, we are discussing its elements. Kung wala ‘yung elements, definitely madi-dismiss ‘yung kaso,” Luistro said. “Dito sa impeachment, what we’re trying to see is the fitness of the public official to continue serving.”
Luistro said the Constitution itself already sets the grounds and the frame.
“And that is why the grounds are so exclusive and distinct from the revised penal code. ‘Di ba? ‘Pag sinabi natin grounds, aanim ito, culpable violation, betrayal of public trust, high crimes, threat, graft and corruption, ano pa nga isa? There’s one more, treason. ‘Pag lumabas diyan sa anim ‘yan, wala na because it’s exclusive in character,” she said.
“And it is not really comparable to a criminal prosecution na ang hahanapin mo talaga each and every element of the crime. If you fail in one, dismissible na agad ‘yung impeachment complaint. Dito we are guided by the phraseology ‘fitness to perform a public office’” Luistro said.
“To be exact, ano ang sabi ng Constitution? Public offices are public trusts. Public officials are accountable to the people at all times. Hindi lang during election time, but even during the service in public offices,” Luistro said.
She added that those eyeing future offices should be judged by the same standard:
“And it is important that all who are desiring to occupy a public position in the future should be the best example of this mandate of accountability,” she said.
“Kung sinabi nating accountability, this is the opposite of impunity. Pag impunity kasi ibig sabihin nun kahit mag-commit ka ng crimes, you will no longer be accountable. Pero pag sinabi natin accountability which applies to public officials, it means we are always answerable to the sovereign Filipino people,” she said.
That line carried an unmistakable political undertone, especially with Duterte having already announced her intention to seek the presidency in 2028.
“I think it’s for the sovereign Filipino people to watch and decide as to who will be the next president. In relation to this impeachment process. Kasi we’re talking about, hindi kasi maihiwalay ‘yung 2028 election. And the vice president already pronounced her intention to run. So I think this is one avenue for the Filipino people to see whether or not the vice president is really fit to be the next president in 2028,” Luistro said.
