‘Power belongs to the people’ – Luistro as Sara Duterte trial begins

MANILA, Philippines — Lead House prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro opened Day 1 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s Senate impeachment trial on Monday with a stark reminder: “Power belongs to the people.”

Luistro challenged the court to consider whether public servants remain accountable to the people who gave them power, or if the public is somehow expected to answer to the official.

READ: LIVE: VP Sara Duterte impeachment trial Day 1

According to Luistro, the impeachment trial matters because it involves public money, public trust, and the people’s right to demand accountability from officials they placed in power.

“The issue now is about something that everyone owns — their money, their trust, their right to ask for accountability from leaders whom they trusted,” Luistro said in Filipino.

Like ordinary public servants, the highest officials are also required to explain the use of funds and the discharge of public duties, she stressed.

READ: Sara Duterte impeachment trial: Senator-judges split over presiding officer

“If a barangay treasurer must account for public funds, then so must the vice president,” Luistro said.

Impeachment is not a weapon for political revenge, she said, but a constitutional safeguard for the republic.

“Not to punish political opponents, not to settle political scores, but to protect the republic itself,” Luistro said. /atm

READ: Escudero maintains: 16 votes needed to convict Sara Duterte

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