Senator Raffy Tulfo has asserted that the ongoing struggle for leadership within the Senate majority bloc is intrinsically linked to the impending impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, warning that the chamber’s leadership will dictate how evidence is managed during the trial.
During a radio interview on Monday, Tulfo voiced his aspiration for the minority bloc to seize control of the Senate majority.
He argued that such a shift would ensure that all pertinent evidence in the impeachment complaint is comprehensively laid out before both the senator-judges and the Filipino people.
The lawmaker highlighted that whoever commands the majority bloc holds the power to sway the trajectory, admissibility, and presentation of evidence over the course of the proceedings.
”Para kung sa amin yung majority, mailatag namin maayos ang lahat ng mga ebidensya,” he said.
”Kasi kung sila malamang sa malamang, palagi nilang kukontrahin, palagi nilang i-strike down,” he added.
Tulfo stressed the importance of transparency, noting that the electorate and the senator-judges must be presented with an uncompromised view of the evidence before determining whether the vice president should be convicted or acquitted.
”Ilalabas namin lahat ng ebidensya available and then ngayon magdedecide ang taong bayan at the end of the day kung sino ba talaga ang nagsasabi ng totoo o hindi, kung dapat ba i-convict si Sara o dapat siya i-acquit,” he said.
He further noted that an exhaustive disclosure of the facts would guide senator-judges toward an unbiased verdict, moving past partisan divides.
”Kung ano man yung political color nila, they will make a decision based on the evidence that were presented during that impeachment,” Tulfo said.
These comments follow a statement from Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, who dismissed allegations from minority lawmakers that a proposed change to Senate rules regarding remote attendance was designed to impact the Duterte impeachment case.
In spite of Cayetano’s assurances, Tulfo insisted that recent maneuvering within the upper chamber points directly to the upcoming trial.
As an example, he cited the active involvement of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa in maneuvers supporting Cayetano’s tenure as Senate chief, indicating that these alignments are being driven by the gravity of the looming impeachment battle.
Tulfo concluded by noting that legal experts, political analysts, and various individuals he has spoken with share the perspective that the rush to lock down the Senate majority is driven, at least in part, by a desire to control the flow and handling of evidence at the trial.