The vote of the impeachment court on the case of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte must be based on the number of participating senator-judges, a key member of the House prosecution said on Saturday.
Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua said it would be “unfair” if absent senators would be allowed to cast votes.
The trial starts July 6.
“Paano magiging fair ‘yon on the part of defense at sa amin kung buong trial ay hindi siya nakapag-participate, wala siya doon tapos hihingin ang boto niya. Paano nagkaroon ng fair justice doon (How can it be fair on the part of the defense and us if he didn’t participate in the entire trial. Where is fair justice there)?” he said at tbe Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.
Chua, who also chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, said allowing an absent senator-judge to vote would be similar to a court judge handing out a ruling without even appearing during the trial itself.
“So parang isang huwes, paano siya magre-render ng kanyang verdict, whether guilty or not, kung hindi naman niya nakita ‘yung mga sinabi ng mga testigo (So like a judge, how can he render a verdict, whether guilty or not, if he hasn’t seen what the witnesses said),” he said.
He pointed out that an impeachment trial is different from a regular legislative process, and should require a senator-judge to see for himself the demeanor of a witness, and evaluate whether he or she is telling facts.
“Dito sa impeachment, ito ay parang akin to court hearing, kung saan ang huwes ay tinitingnan ‘yong demeanor ng testigo kung ito ay nagsasabi ng totoo, kung ito ay nagsisinungaling (In the impeachment, it’s akin to a court hearing, where the judge looks at the demeanor of the witness if he’s telling the truth, if he’s lying),” he said.
“Parte ng kanilang pag-rerender ng judgment ay base sa mannerism, sa conduct na inuupo sa (Part of the process of rendering judgment is to assess mannerism and the conduct of those sitting on the) witness stand,” he added.
Chua pointed out that when a trial court judge’s decision is elevated to the Court of Appeals, the latter tackles only the question of law and not factual issues.
He said the ultimate resolution to the issue would eventually have to come from the Supreme Court.
He also noted that the July 3 session of the new Senate majority, led by Senatior Sherwin Gatchalian, may be applied in the impeachment court.
“Pero tingnan natin kung puwedeng i-apply ‘yung quorum. Kasi kung ‘yon ang magiging desisyon nila, tutal may decided cases na dito, sa tingin ko wala rin namang masama na ito ang i-apply (But let’s see if the quorum can be applied. If that’s their decision, since there are already decided cases here, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with applying it),” he explained.
While a major issue, Chua said the House prosecution team has not extensively discussed the subject, since it is preparing for the pre-trial conference on June 18.
At present, Senator Ronald Dela Rosa is nowhere to be found since slipping out of the Senate on May 14, while Senator Jinggoy Estrada is detained over his plunder case, leaving the number of senators that are able to physically participate in the looming trial to 22. (PNA)