Allies of Vice President Sara Duterte will be allowed to participate in the House plenary debates on the Articles of Impeachment against her, according to House Committee on Justice chairperson and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro.
Luistro said lawmakers supportive of the Duterte family, including Davao City Reps. Paolo Duterte and Omar Vincent Duterte, as well as PPP Party-list Rep. Harold Duterte, would have the opportunity to join the interpellation and plenary discussions once the committee report is sponsored before the House.
“There will be a debate after the sponsorship speech. I think everybody will be given the opportunity to participate in the debate,” Luistro said.
She explained that while lawmakers may also be allowed to explain their votes, the final arrangement would depend on the House Rules Committee and the number of members who wish to speak.
Luistro noted that interpellation would be the more appropriate venue for lawmakers seeking to challenge the findings of the House Committee on Justice, as it would allow the panel to directly respond to arguments raised during the proceedings.
“Perhaps if they wish to participate, it’s better to participate in the interpellations so that the Filipino people will hear their arguments, which the Justice Committee will definitely respond to,” she said.
The Justice Committee chair also clarified that she has not been conducting vote-counting or lobbying efforts ahead of the expected plenary vote on the impeachment complaint.
According to Luistro, her focus remains on defending the committee’s findings of probable cause and explaining the basis of the Articles of Impeachment before the full House.
“I never preempted as to who will be voting in favor of the impeachment and who will not,” she said.
She stressed that the decision to affirm the committee report ultimately rests with individual members of the House of Representatives.
“In other words, my focus is only to defend the findings of probable cause of the Justice Committee,” Luistro said.
The Batangas lawmaker likewise denied campaigning for support among House members, saying she has not been privately contacting lawmakers to influence their votes.
“I’m not campaigning in the sense that I don’t reach out to House members, I don’t call them, I don’t talk to them,” she said.
Luistro added that Monday’s plenary session would mark the first time she would publicly present and defend the committee report and the Articles of Impeachment before the entire chamber.
She said the plenary proceedings would serve as the proper venue to seek the House’s affirmation of the committee’s findings and the possible transmission of the impeachment case to the Senate for trial.