Manila, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte is set to face an even more formidable challenge in her upcoming Senate impeachment trial as prominent human rights lawyers and incoming lawmakers Leila de Lima and Chel Diokno were confirmed to join the House prosecution team.
De Lima, representing Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Partylist, and Diokno of Akbayan Partylist, will replace outgoing Representatives Jil Bongalon (Ako Bicol) and Loreto Acharon (General Santos City), both of whom lost their respective bids in the recent elections.
In a statement, De Lima confirmed that House Speaker Martin Romualdez personally convinced her and Diokno to join the team, emphasizing the need for credible legal minds in the high-stakes trial.
“I will not make this personal. I will let the law speak for itself,” said De Lima in a media interview. The former senator and justice secretary was imprisoned for nearly seven years under the administration of then-President Rodrigo Duterte, the father of the embattled vice president. The cases against her, which were later dismissed, were widely viewed as politically motivated.
Akbayan also released a statement confirming Diokno’s inclusion, noting that he will ground his arguments strictly on evidence.
Speaker Romualdez welcomed the addition of De Lima and Diokno, praising them as “brilliant legal minds” whose participation would elevate the proceedings.
In the recently concluded elections, Akbayan secured at least three seats in the House of Representatives, while ML Partylist clinched one.
The impeachment trial of Vice President Duterte is scheduled to begin on July 30 in the Senate. The specific charges remain undisclosed, but the proceedings are expected to draw national attention given the political and legal stakes involved.