Prosecutors: No need for senator-judge inhibition in impeachment trial

MANILA, Philippines – Prosecutors in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial do not see the need to seek the inhibition of senator-judges, panel spokesman Benjamin Tolosa, Jr. said on Thursday.

In a media briefing, the prosecutors said they expect senators to remain politically neutral during the trial and have not discussed filing a motion to sideline their participation in the proceedings.

“We have no intention to do that,” Tolosa, a lawyer, said.

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“That’s a matter that falls within the discretion of the impeachment court, and the individual senators sitting as judges in the impeachment proceeding.”

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“What’s important is that in the rules on impeachment, all senators are required to observe political neutrality.”

The impeachment trial against Duterte moved to the Senate this week, with prosecutors pressing allegations of wrongdoing against her even as she retains strong political backing and allies among senators who’ll deliver the verdict in what could be a months-long process.

READ: With or without contract to kill, VP made impeachable offense – lawmaker

Tolosa said the Senate’s impeachment rules mandate its members to “participate in these proceedings and render judgment regardless of their political affiliations.”

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“We have faith in the senator-judges that they will comply with this obligation,” he said.

San Juan Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora, an impeachment prosecutor, said they are not discussing moves to sideline senators as they are focused on making the case for Duterte’s impeachment.

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“We are not discussing that,” she said in the same media briefing.

Duterte, 48, faces the biggest political test of her career as she confronts an impeachment trial in the Senate over accusations that she misused hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential funds, amassed unexplained wealth, bribery, and threatening the lives of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., the First Lady and a former Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Prosecutors need at least two-thirds of the Senate to convict Duterte, a verdict that would remove her from office and may also carry a perpetual ban from holding public office.

Tolosa said it was important to listen to evidence from both sides, adding that only by doing so could it be determined whether there was a “solid basis” for the impeachment case.

“After reviewing it, we will see if there is a solid basis for the case,” he said. “Whether politically motivated or not. The evidence alone will answer.”

Duterte’s trial comes as she has emerged as a favorite in early presidential surveys, buoyed by a fiercely loyal base that kept her appeal intact despite swirling controversy that has led to her being impeached twice.

She announced her plan to run for president in 2028.

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Evidence sought in the trial includes Duterte’s tax records and her net worth statements, as well as testimony from several witnesses, including government officials, bank representatives, and even a court sheriff whom Duterte punched when she was mayor of Davao City. /gsg