Two lawmakers have called for the inclusion of former Sen. Leila de Lima and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, both poised to win in the just-concluded midterm polls, into the prosecution panel for Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial in July. (VP Sara Duterte impeachment composite image from Inquirer files)
MANILA, Philippines — Two lawmakers have called for the inclusion of former Sen. Leila de Lima and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, both poised to win in the just-concluded midterm polls, into the prosecution panel for Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial in July.
Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua and Zambales 1st District Rep. Jefferson Khonghun, in separate statements on Wednesday, said that the two lawyers will be a boost to the prosecution team.
Chua, a member of the prosecution team, and Khonghun have won their respective congressional contests. De Lima and Diokno’s groups — ML party-list and Akbayan party-list, meanwhile, are poised to get at least one seat for the incoming 20th Congress.
“Of course, they are very much welcome to join the team, considering their background and their legal expertise […] (They would be of) big help because of their experience, especially Attorney (Miro) Quimbo, I think he was part of the impeachment trial in the previous congress, Cong. Leila de Lima, on the other hand, had been the justice secretary. So you can see their background,” Chua said in an interview with House reporters.
“Well, to be honest with you, that is not my call, but at the end of the day if they will offer their services, or personally I can say that I think it would be good if they will be with us because we can see that they are not ordinary lawmakers, they are very sought-after lawyers,” he added in Filipino.
Khonghun, a staunch critic of the Dutertes, believes that de Lima and Diokno would be a big help, especially since there are members of the prosecution panel who may not win in the 2025 midterm elections.
“With some prosecutors unable to continue in the 20th Congress, we welcome the possibility of including new members like former Sen. De Lima and Atty. Diokno in the prosecution panel,” Khonghun said.
“They are both lawyers, both consistent defenders of human rights, and both long-time critics of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs—exactly the kind of voices we need to restore accountability,” he added.
De Lima, in a separate interview, meanwhile, said that she will wait for any formal invitation as she does not want to be presumptuous. But if any offer comes, the former senator said she will seriously consider it.
“No one has talked to me yet, now in case that happens, that someone would ask me about that, what I can say now is I’ll give it serious thought and consideration… Well, I do not want to get ahead of the House, of course they are the ones with power or they have the authority to say who will be members of the prosecution panel,” De Lima said in Filipino.
“So I don’t want to preempt their decision, you know, I don’t want to make my decision to be premature. So may I just reiterate that if it really comes to a discussion, then I will definitely give it a very serious thought and consideration […] because I don’t want to be presumptuous,” she added.
According to updates on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) transparency server as of 11:29 a.m. on Wednesday, the ML party list is ranked 14th after getting 541,000 votes or 1.32 percent of total votes processed by the quick count.
Diokno’s Akbayan, meanwhile, is in the lead, with over 2.75 million votes or 6.71 percent of the votes. This means Akbayan may get three seats in the 20th Congress.
De Lima and Diokno have been critical of the Dutertes, particularly former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war and the vice president’s alleged irregular confidential fund spending.
Last December 2, 2024, civil society groups filed an impeachment complaint against Vice President Duterte, which was endorsed by Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña.
De Lima served as the spokesperson for the group, explaining that their complaints were hinged on allegations of the misuse of confidential funds within Duterte’s offices, grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and supposed bribery.
READ: De Lima: Fund misuse, threats among grounds for impeaching VP Duterte
The special disbursing officers of the OVP and DepEd admitted during the hearing of the House committee on good government and public accountability that they left the disbursement of secret funds to security officers./coa