Speaking at the Saturday News Forum, House prosecutor and Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said the House prosecution panel remains confident it can secure the 16 Senate votes needed to convict Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, stressing that the strength of the evidence, not the current power struggle in the Senate, will determine the outcome of the impeachment trial.
“Our confidence in convicting the Vice President is not based on the numbers of the Senate or the leadership of the Senate. Our confidence in convicting the Vice President is based on the evidence itself,” said Ridon, who also chairs the House Committee on Public Accounts.
Ridon said the prosecution will rely on documentary, financial, and testimonial evidence to prove its case before the senator-judges.
He cited reports from the Anti-Money Laundering Council, findings of the National Bureau of Investigation, banking records, and other documents as among the evidence to be presented during trial.
“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 Senate divide would be persuaded once the evidence is fully presented.
“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.
From the prosecution’s standpoint, Ridon said the Senate leadership dispute does not change its mandate: to present the impeachment case and prove the allegations against Duterte before the Senate impeachment court.
The House prosecution panel is finalizing its list of witnesses and documentary evidence while conducting mock trials for each article of impeachment.
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.