PROSECUTORS can’t be held liable for performing constitutional duty, lead prosecutor Batangas Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro said.
Luistro stressed that while Vice President Sara Z. Duterte may pursue legal action against members of the House prosecution panel and the private lawyers assisting them if she is acquitted in her impeachment trial, they cannot be held liable for carrying out their constitutional responsibilities.
She said public and private prosecutors are prepared to defend their participation in the proceedings should Duterte decide to pursue complaints arising from the impeachment case.
“Wala pong pananagutan because the prosecution merely responded to this constitutional duty,” Luistro told media forum.
Luistro explained that the House of Representatives is constitutionally mandated to initiate impeachment proceedings against impeachable officials while its designated prosecutors are responsible for presenting the approved charges before the Senate impeachment court.
“Please understand that this is under Article XI of our Constitution. The prosecution or the House of Representatives has the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment and to appear as prosecution in the event that this is transmitted to the Senate,” Luistro explained.
Article XI, Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution gives the House the exclusive authority to initiate impeachment cases and the Senate the sole power to try and decide them, establishing the separate responsibilities of both chambers in the constitutional accountability process.
Luistro maintained that the House could have faced questions about its failure to discharge its constitutional responsibilities had it refused to act on impeachment complaints that satisfied the applicable legal requirements.
“As a matter of fact Sir kung hindi ho kami nag respond baka ho doon kami makasuhan because we are not fulfilling our constitutional duty,” Luistro pointed out.
The prosecution chief also defended the participation of private lawyers, saying the House had also previously engaged outside legal practitioners during the impeachment proceedings involving former President Joseph Estrada and former Chief Justice Renato Corona.
“Wala din po (liability) because legislative precedent will show that during the time of Erap impeachment and during the time of Corona impeachment allowed po ang private lawyers to assist the panel of public prosecution,” Luistro also explained.
The House introduced its first group of private prosecutors in June 2026 to provide litigation experience and legal assistance to the elected prosecution panel, while maintaining that the lawmakers themselves would assume responsibility for presenting the impeachment case.
“It will always be her prerogative to go against public prosecutors,” Luistro acknowledged, stressing that Duterte retains the right to pursue whatever legal remedies she believes are available.
“It will always be her prerogative to go against the private lawyers who assisted the panel of public prosecutors. But we are maintaining our position that we merely responded to our constitutional duty,” Luistro added.