Evidence enough to convict VP, says prosecution

MANILA, Philippines — Documentary and testimonial evidence against impeached Vice President Sara Duterte are enough to convict her regardless of whether the conviction threshold is maintained or not, according to the prosecution team of the House of Representatives.

“As far as we are concerned, we stick to the principle that we will sink or swim with the evidence that we will be presenting before the Senate impeachment court,” Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores (Bukidnon) – a member of the 11-member prosecution team – declared.

“Whether it’s 16, 14, or 13, we’re really just focused on presenting the evidence,” Flores said.

Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno has repeatedly stressed that the prosecution’s focus is on the presentation of evidence and not on the voting threshold.

Flores said prosecutors have not yet finalized their collective position on the threshold issue tackled by a group of retired Supreme Court justice tapped as amici curiae or friends of the court.

“If there’s one thing that we don’t disagree on, it’s that the threshold is still two-thirds,” Flores said.

Rep. Joel Chua (Manila third district) also said they hope to secure a conviction for Duterte based on the strength of evidence.

“Whether it is 16, 15 or 14, we are preparing to show the extent of evidence that may hopefully convince the senator-judges that we have an overwhelming evidence that would warrant the conviction of the respondent,” he told reporters.

“At the end of the day, the audience here is not just limited to senator-judges, but to the entire Filipino population as well,” Chua, chairman of the House committee on good government and public accountability, emphasized.

The Constitution requires the concurrence of two-thirds of all Senate members for conviction.

With a 24-member Senate, presiding officer Sen. Francis Escudero initially set the threshold at 16 votes, a decision that has sparked controversy because of non-participation of several senator-judges in trial proceedings – for various reasons.

The prosecution and defense are scheduled to argue their respective positions on the threshold on Sept. 23.

Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, currently detained for plunder, said he does not intend to seek furlough just so he could vote on the proposed change in 16-vote threshold.

“I will not move for a furlough just to vote for a threshold. I don’t think the threshold is a subject of a vote. It’s already in the Constitution. Nobody has a right to change the Constitution,” he said after the bail hearing on his plunder case. Also in detention for plunder is Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.

Two other senators, Loren Legarda and Ronald dela Rosa, are absent from the proceedings. Dela Rosa has been in hiding since May following the issuance of an arrest warrant against him by the International Criminal Court. Meanwhile, Legarda has been on an extended medical leave.

‘Indelible mark’

Reflecting on the appearance of former Supreme Court chief justices before the impeachment court last Wednesday, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said their expert testimonies have left an “indelible mark” on him and would guide him in the vote to resolve the conviction threshold.

Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente Sotto III told reporters that senators would first hold a caucus before putting the threshold matter to a vote.

Malacañang, meanwhile, said it is keeping its hands off the issue. — Neil Jayson Servallos, Daphne Galvez, Alexis Romero