Talks of a possible leadership change in the Senate will not weaken the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, House trial spokesman Zia Alonto Adiong said Saturday.
House Assistant Majority Leader and Congressman of Lanao del Sur, Rep. Alonto Adiong made the statement amid renewed speculation over possible leadership realignments inside the Senate as the chamber prepares to move deeper into impeachment proceedings after formally convening as an impeachment court and issuing writs of summons to both the prosecution and defense panels.
The Senate is expected to receive the formal response of Duterte’s camp by June 1, after which the House prosecution team will file its reply before pre-trial proceedings begin.
Despite the political noise surrounding the Senate leadership issue, Alonto Adiong said the House prosecution panel would avoid commenting on internal Senate matters out of institutional respect for a co-equal branch of government.Talks of a possible leadership change in the Senate will not weaken the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, House trial spokesman Zia Alonto Adiong said Saturday.
Alonto Adiong made the statement amid renewed speculation over possible realignments in the Senate, including reported efforts to install Sen. Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian as Senate President, as the chamber prepares for the next stages of Duterte’s impeachment trial.
The Senate has formally convened as an impeachment court and has issued writs of summons to both the prosecution and defense panels. Duterte’s camp is expected to submit its formal answer by June 1, after which the House prosecution team will file its reply before pre-trial proceedings begin.
Despite the political noise surrounding the Senate leadership issue, Alonto Adiong said the House prosecution panel would refrain from interfering in what he described as an internal matter of a co-equal branch of government.
“As far as we maintain institutional respect to our co-equal branch, that is an internal dynamics within the Senate,” Alonto Adiong said during the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City.
“And I think in terms of the decision, collective decision, whether the senators will be changing the leadership, that is entirely up to the decision of the individual senators,” he added.
The House Assistant Majority Leader and Lanao del Sur representative stressed that the strength of the prosecution’s case does not depend on who leads the Senate or who holds key positions in the chamber.
“So ang pinanindigan namin, whoever becomes the Senate President or whatever is the composition of the Senate in terms of key positions in the Senate, will not affect the soundness and the volume of evidence that the House prosecution team will be presenting to the impeachment court,” Alonto Adiong said.
He said the prosecution’s case will remain anchored on the documentary evidence, testimonies, and records gathered during House proceedings.
“It would still be consistent with the testimonies and the documents that we have gathered,” he said.
Alonto Adiong also said the upcoming pre-trial stage will help define how the proceedings will move forward, including the presentation of witnesses and evidence before the Senate impeachment court.
“In the pre-trial, I believe, the pre-trial setting down the ground rules for the impeachment court to proceed,” he said.
“Part of that is actually identification of the potential witnesses and markings of evidences,” he added.
For the House prosecution panel, Alonto Adiong said the focus remains on presenting the case before the impeachment court, regardless of any leadership developments within the Senate.