Citizens’ monitoring network Bantay Senado is calling on the Senate Impeachment Court to overturn its decision to hold the June 18 pre-trial conference for Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment behind closed doors.
The court previously barred the public and media from attending the session, claiming that the exclusion would offer the involved parties “the widest freedom and latitude.”
However, in a statement released on Tuesday, the monitoring group countered that transparency is a fundamental constitutional requirement rather than a matter of judicial discretion.
“The pre-trial conference is the stage where the ground rules of the trial are established, evidence is formally marked, and witnesses are identified. These are not administrative or ministerial formalities. Bantay Senado believes that they are consequential decisions that will shape the entire character of the proceedings. The Filipino public has a right to see how those decisions are made,” said Prof. Cleve Arguelles, the group’s convenor and spokesperson.
Arguelles emphasized that the trial transcends private litigation and directly involves the nation’s interest.
“The impeachment trial of a sitting Vice President is not a private legal dispute between two parties. It is a constitutional process conducted in the name of the Filipino people. Every stage of that process – including the pre-trial – must be conducted transparently. The public is not an optional participant to the proceedings,” Arguelles stressed.
While Bantay Senado clarified that it maintains a neutral stance on the merits of the impeachment case itself, the network insisted that public access is vital for the trial’s credibility.
“In a constitutional proceeding of this magnitude, public access is not a privilege that the court may grant or withhold at its convenience. Public access is a condition of the legitimacy of the entire impeachment trial,” Arguelles added.
Michael Tiu Jr., a legal expert, assistant professor at the University of the Philippines College of Law, and contributor to Bantay Senado, echoed these concerns. He argued that the nature of impeachment makes public access a necessity.
“The public has the right to such information as matters of public concern, access to which is made more imperative by the state policy of full public disclosure. Closing it to the public and media without compelling constitutional justification may raise serious questions about the court’s commitment to due process and open justice. Transparency at the pre-trial stage is not incompatible with fair proceedings,” Tiu stated.
Bantay Senado, a non-partisan initiative supported by the Team Pinas Foundation, concluded its appeal by urging the Senate Impeachment Court to immediately issue a revised notice opening the June 18 pre-trial conference to both the media and the public.