The Senate should allow evidence, not political noise, to determine the direction of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, a House leader said, citing the findings that convinced lawmakers to back the complaint.
The House of Representatives voted 257-25-9 to impeach Duterte and transmit the case to the Senate, surpassing the constitutional threshold needed to bring the Vice President to trial before the Senate impeachment court.
According to House Committee on Higher and Technical Education chair Jude Acidre, support for the impeachment complaint was not overwhelming at the start, particularly because many House members were first-term lawmakers who had not taken part in previous impeachment proceedings involving Duterte.
“Sa totoo lang, wala. Kasi kung titignan mo sa House, when we started the impeachment, I honestly could say that hindi ganon ka-overwhelming ang numbers sa una,” he said in an interview.
He said about one-third of House members were first-term legislators who had no direct involvement in earlier proceedings.
“Kasi nga ho, one-third sa amin were mostly first-termers. And they were not part of the process that we had last year,” he said.
The shift, he said, came after lawmakers reviewed the evidence presented during the hearings, particularly matters raised during clarificatory proceedings involving the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
“Pero after the second day, especially ‘yung AMLC na clarificatory hearings, noong nakita ‘yung ebidensya, biglang nagbago ang shift ng Kongreso,” he said.
The impeachment complaint against Duterte includes allegations of misuse of public funds, unexplained wealth, and threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other officials. Duterte has denied wrongdoing and has criticized the proceedings as politically motivated.
The House leader said lawmakers eventually concluded that the evidence before them required the chamber to act on its constitutional duty, regardless of political consequences.
“Kung ano mang pag-aalinlangan, ano mang consideration for the political consequences were all, talagang na-realize sa amin, ito yung kailangan muna nating unahin,” he said.
“Ito yung kailangan nating bigyan ng prioridad. And we’re hoping that the Senate also will take a cue from that,” he added.
He urged the Senate impeachment court to let the proof presented during trial guide the proceedings.
“Allow the evidence to speak for itself,” he said.
He said the House voted despite political pressure and the charged climate surrounding the case, because lawmakers believed the decision had to be anchored on evidence.
“When we passed the impeachment sa House, despite all the political pressure na meron tayo and given the climate, talagang klaro sa amin na trabaho natin to, sundin natin yung ebidensya,” he said.
“At nung nandun na yung ebidensya, kung ano man yung consequence, we have to stand by our vote,” he added.
The House has since returned to its legislative agenda after completing its role in the impeachment process, with lawmakers focusing on priority measures in the past two weeks.
The lawmaker also said the final vote reflected confidence in the House leadership and showed the chamber acting as one institution in carrying out its constitutional mandate.