Luistro: Petitions vs Duterte impeachment hearing never addressed issues

MANILA, Philippines — All the petitions seeking to stop the House of Representatives’ committee on justice from conducting the impeachment hearings on Vice President Sara Duterte have failed to address issues raised in the complaints, Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said on Tuesday.

Luistro, in her opening speech at the committee’s hearing, noted three petitions filed before the Supreme Court (SC) seeking relief for Duterte — first from the same lawyers as those of Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder Apollo Quiboloy, second from Duterte, and third from several individuals.

The Batangas solon, who heads the committee on justice, also mentioned a petition from Duterte’s husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, who asked a Quezon City Regional Trial Court to stop the panel from issuing a subpoena on his tax documents, saying that “a private person’s tax returns are highly confidential in nature.”

READ: Ridon: Sara Duterte’s husband seeks TRO on BIR docs subpoena

“Esteemed colleagues, beloved countrymen, there are a total of four petitions seeking to stop these hearings. As we always say, public office is a public trust; but indeed, it’s easier said than done. But despite the length of the four petitions, let me tell you, not one answered the important accusations against the vice president,” Luistro said in Filipino.

“They only discussed technicalities. The people are looking for answers, not pieces of paper,” she added.

Luistro also said that addressing the issues is simple, yet Duterte and her camp still refuse to answer the complaints squarely.

“The accusations are simple: for example, she allegedly spent confidential funds wrongly, and she amassed hidden wealth. Did the petitions answer that? No, purely technicalities only,” she said in Filipino.

“They also say there’s a one-year bar […] the answer is simple: the one-year bar — this has been said repeatedly — let us remember that a year has passed before the impeachment process was initiated,” she added.

Luistro also countered claims that the impeachment complaints were transmitted by House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III alone and not by the entire chamber, noting that the speaker does not act alone.

Paragraphs 58 and 59 of Duterte’s petition claimed that since the 1987 Constitution places the power to initiate impeachment on the House as a “collective body, and not on any of its officers, members, or committees alone,” members of the chamber should have deliberated on the matter first.

According to Duterte’s team, the initiation of the impeachment complaints should have been done collectively and not merely transmitted by Dy and the committee on rules alone.

“About this referral: let us remember that the speaker does not move alone. He moves as a representative of the entire chamber, in accordance with our rules. Rest assured that all these procedural questions will be addressed,” Luistro said in Filipino.

Several lawmakers have called out Duterte’s camp for filing a petition that supposedly failed to answer key issues. Last April 8, Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said the Supreme Court should junk the petition due to fraudulent claims.

Ridon said Duterte’s lawyers are lying when they claim that, under the rules on preliminary investigation of criminal cases, prosecutors cannot add evidence to bolster a case.

The lawmaker also said Duterte’s team appears to be unaware of several provisions in the House rules and procedures, as they questioned the manner of transmitting the impeachment complaints without realizing how the chamber conducts its business.

READ: Sara Duterte camp seems ‘ignorant’ of some House rules — Ridon

Due to the waivers, the committee went straight to determining the sufficiency of the grounds in the complaints, making the process a little quicker than expected. After the grounds for the complaints were found sufficient, the committee moved to the proper hearing.

Last March 25, the committee approved motions to issue subpoenas to various personalities believed to be key witnesses in the impeachment proceedings, as well as documents seen to bolster the case against Duterte.

The testimonies of witnesses and documents summoned are set to be discussed on Tuesday, April 14. The next hearings will be held on April 22 and 29. /mcm