The House of Representatives has officially authorized its legal panel, consisting of both congressional and private prosecutors, to represent the chamber in the forthcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
The mandate was formalized during a special session on Wednesday following a motion introduced by San Juan City Representative Ysabel Maria Zamora.
“To authorize the House public prosecutors and the private prosecutors, subject to the direction, control, and supervision of the House public prosecutors, in the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte, to act for and on behalf of the House of Representatives in all pre-trial proceedings and incidental matters before the Senate sitting as an impeachment court,” Zamora stated.
Presided over by South Cotabato Representative Ferdinand Hernandez, the motion was approved without any objections. The dynamic gives the prosecution team the authority to resolve factual disputes, stipulate evidence, organize witness lists, and set schedules prior to the June 18 pre-trial conference in the Senate.
In preparation for the proceedings, House Secretary General Atty. Cheloy Garafil submitted a 57-page pre-trial brief to the Senate on June 15, detailing the primary evidence and witnesses for the trial.
The public prosecution panel is composed of Representatives Gerville Luistro, Ysabel Maria Zamora, Terry Ridon, Rodge Gutierrez, Lorenz Defensor, Chel Diokno, Leila de Lima, Kaka Bag-ao, Jonathan Keith Flores, Lordan Suan, and Joel Chua.
Assisting them are private attorneys serving on a pro bono basis. The private legal team includes Marforth Fua, James Bryan Ibrahim Alih, Erwin Matib, and Justine Anne Lamarca from PECABAR Law; Lorna Kapunan, Sonya Margarita Renemerito-Castillo, Deanne Melissa Lorenzo-Singian, Bettina Zamora, and Lino Chris Kapunan from Kapunan and Castillo Law Offices; and Amando Virgil Ligutan of SALiGAL Law.