The House prosecution team reinforced its legal roster for the upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte by recruiting four prominent private lawyers and appointing veteran lawmaker Robert Ace Barbers as a team spokesperson and adviser.
During a press briefing, House prosecutor and Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Representative Leila de Lima announced the addition of attorneys Theodore Te, Reynaldo Robles, Arnold Labay, and Mae Divinagracia to serve as private prosecutors assisting the congressional panel.
Additionally, Barbers—a seasoned politician who previously served as a Surigao del Norte governor and six-term House representative, and is the son of the late Senator Robert Barbers—was named an official spokesperson and strategic adviser for the prosecution.
“This impeachment trial is not an ordinary legal engagement. It is a constitutional proceeding where preparation, discipline, and fidelity to the evidence matter deeply,” De Lima said.
“We welcome these seasoned lawyers because their experience will help the prosecution present its case clearly, responsibly, and with the seriousness that the Filipino people deserve,” she added.
The newly appointed private prosecutors bring extensive legal backgrounds to the team:
- Theodore Te: A human rights advocate and UP College of Law faculty member who served as the Supreme Court’s chief public information officer and spokesperson from 2013 to 2018. He also leads the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) as its interim chair.
- Reynaldo Robles: The founding and managing partner of Chan Robles & Associates. A top-10 placer in the 1990 Bar exams, he graduated class valedictorian and cum laude from the Far Eastern University Institute of Law.
- Arnold Labay: A certified public accountant and senior partner at Chan Robles & Associates. Labay is a legal author who has taught remedial law, evidence, and civil law at New Era University.
- Mae Divinagracia: The managing partner of Co Nazario Velasco-Catera and Divinagracia Law Offices. Formerly with ACCRALAW’s litigation department, she has taught law at the Ateneo de Manila University, Ateneo de Naga University, and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.