The 11-member House prosecution panel will appear in full force before the Senate on Monday, May 18, as the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte formally enters its next constitutional stage.
House Committee on Public Accounts chairperson and Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said the prosecutors will attend the opening of the Senate impeachment court at 3 p.m. to show respect for the Senate, the Constitution and the impeachment process.
“Yung kabuuan po ng 11-person House prosecution panel ay pupunta po sa Senado, sa alas tres ng hapon, May 18, para saksihan po yung pagbubukas ng Senate impeachment court,” Ridon said during the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City.
Ridon said the panel’s presence should not be viewed as merely ceremonial, but as a formal acknowledgment that the impeachment case against Duterte has moved beyond the House and into the Senate’s jurisdiction as an impeachment court.
“Ano ho yung dahilan bakit ho kami pupunta ‘ron? Una paggalang po sa Senado, pangalawa paggalang po doon sa proseso na itinatadhana po ng Constitution po mismo,” Ridon said.
The House voted 257-25-9 to impeach Duterte, far exceeding the 106 votes required to transmit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. Ridon said the result sent a clear institutional message that the case had overwhelming support in the chamber.
He also said the vote showed that Duterte’s political base was not enough to block the impeachment move, even in areas considered favorable to her and her family.
“Overwhelming po yung boto to impeach the vice president…Even within the strongest bailiwicks of the vice president and Dutertes within Mindanao, within Cebu, within Visayas, hindi po ito nag-turnout for the vice president. I think that point needs to be made,” Ridon said.
For Ridon, the convening of the Senate impeachment court will mark more than the formal start of trial proceedings. He said it will open the next phase in the constitutional process, where evidence that persuaded an overwhelming majority of House members will be tested before senator-judges.
“Limited pa ho yung papel ng Kamara dito po sa araw na ito, pero mahalaga pong masaksihan po officially ng prosecution panel yun pong magiging kaganapan sa araw po na ito. At inaasahan po namin na talagang magco-convene sa araw na ito ang Senate impeachment court, at gugulong na sa wakas ang trial ng ating pangalawang pangulo,” Ridon said.