The House of Representatives on Tuesday formally elected an 11-member prosecution panel composed of lawmakers, lawyers, and veteran legal experts who will represent the chamber in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte before the Senate.
The prosecution team includes senior House leaders from both the majority and minority blocs who will present the Articles of Impeachment and supporting evidence during the trial.
Elected to the panel were Reps. Joel Chua, Leila de Lima, Jinky Bitrics Reyes-Luistro, Terry Ridon, Chel Diokno, Ysabel Maria Zamora, Lordan Suan, Jonathan Keith Flores, Lorenz Defensor, Rodge Gutierrez, and Arlene Bag-ao.
Several members of the panel are among the country’s most prominent legal figures.
De Lima, now serving as Senior Deputy Minority Leader, is a former senator, justice secretary, and chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights known internationally for her human rights advocacy and defense of democratic institutions.
Diokno, currently Deputy Minority Leader, is one of the country’s leading human rights lawyers and previously served as chairman of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG). He also acted as private prosecutor during the impeachment trial of former president Joseph Estrada.
Luistro, who chairs the House Committee on Justice, earlier helped lead congressional investigations involving the Arroyo-era tax credit scam, while Chua has headed high-profile House inquiries on confidential funds and corruption issues as chair of the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
Ridon, a former Kabataan Party-list representative and lawyer, previously headed the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, while Zamora is a UP-trained lawyer specializing in litigation, corporate law, and criminal law.
Bag-ao, meanwhile, previously served as one of the prosecutors during the impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona.
House leaders said the composition of the panel reflects the chamber’s commitment to present the impeachment case “with professionalism, integrity, and overwhelming respect for due process.”
The House earlier approved the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte by a vote of 257-25, with nine abstentions, comfortably surpassing the constitutional threshold required to elevate the case to the Senate for trial.
The impeachment complaint accuses Duterte of alleged misuse and malversation of P612.5 million in confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery, and alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.