Members of the House of Representatives will be given adequate time to examine the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte before the expected plenary vote on May 11, the House Committee on Justice chairperson said.
Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro stressed that providing lawmakers with complete documents is not only a matter of procedure but also in line with due process standards, citing a Supreme Court ruling tied to the earlier impeachment complaint against the vice president.
“Ang sabi nila diyan, before the plenary vote, the House members should be provided with a copy of the committee report, the resolution and the articles of impeachment, most especially the articles of impeachment and the attached evidence,” Luistro said.
“They should be given reasonable time to read and study the same before the plenary vote. That’s part of due process na napag-aralan,” she added.
The House Committee on Justice recently approved the consolidated impeachment report with a 55-0 vote, following findings of probable cause on two separate complaints against Duterte dated April 29. The report is now being processed by the Bills and Index Service and is expected to reach the Committee on Rules for plenary referral.
Once referred back to the plenary, Luistro said the House Secretary General will be directed to distribute copies of the committee report, Articles of Impeachment, and supporting evidence to all 318 lawmakers, as well as to the Vice President and the complainants.
“After pang mai-refer ng Rules back to the plenary, the plenary should order, should direct the Secretary General to provide copies to all the House members,” she said.
She noted that lawmakers will be given a five-day period to study the documents before voting, which she described as a “reasonable” timeframe.
“So if that will happen today, then we have Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I think five days is a reasonable period for the House members to be able to read and study,” Luistro said.
“From my perspective as the justice chair, given the five-day period na ibibigay natin to the House members to study, I think by May 11, the plenary should be ready to vote,” she added.
Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor of Iloilo, a member of the justice panel, also defended the timeline of the proceedings, saying impeachment requires a thorough evaluation of evidence before lawmakers can decide.
“Sadyang matagal ang proseso ng impeachment kasi dapat mabigyan ng pagkakataon na mailatag ang ebidensya para magkaroon kami ng sapat na batayan para makaboto ng intelihente,” Defensor said in an interview with dzMM.
He added that the process also ensures that the respondent is given an opportunity to respond to the allegations.
“Katulad ng vice president, kung gusto niya sumagot ay may panahon at pagkakataon siya sumagot,” he said.
Defensor noted that Duterte had earlier been invited to the committee hearings but did not attend, although he maintained that opportunities to respond were still provided.
“It’s always part of due process… The vice president was given every opportunity to attend and to debunk,” he said.
With 55 lawmakers already voting in favor at the committee level, only 51 additional votes are needed in the plenary to reach the one-third threshold required to transmit the impeachment case to the Senate.
Defensor expressed confidence that the numbers are within reach, saying lawmakers must weigh the evidence presented and explain their decisions to constituents.
“Marami pong pwedeng pumanig sa vice president kung may nakita silang ebidensyang nasagot naman pala,” he said. “But now it’s very hard to explain… kung wala namang sagot at wala namang justification.”