The House prosecution panel refuted the Defense team’s opening statement during the earlier impeachment trial on Monday, July 6, arguing that obtaining 32 million votes was no license to commit violations, especially for a public official.
“Hindi license ang 32 million votes na mag-commit tayo ng paglabag sa batas, lalong-lalo na kung ikaw ay isang public officer. Nakasaad sa ating Saligang Batas na mayroong mga accountability mechanism na kung saan ay mayroong pananagutan na dapat harapin ang mga public officer kung mayro’n silang nilabag na batas o mga alituntunin,” prosecution panel Spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers told reporters during a press conference Monday evening, adding that this applies to all impeachable officers.
“Does that mean, because you’re the most powerful person in the government and because you were able to get X amount of votes, does that give you a license to commit all these violations?” he stressed.
The former lawmaker asserted that the Constitution’s accountability mechanisms were put in place to protect the Filipino people’s interests from officials who would abuse their power.
“Nilagay ito para proteksyunan ang interes ng ating mga mamamayang Pilipino doon sa maaaring pag-abuso o hindi kaya’t pag-violate ng ating mga opisyal sa gobyerno na matataas ang tungkulin,” Barbers said.
Lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro also emphasized that the House never went on a “fishing expedition,” a pejorative term for conducting an investigative inquiry that is speculative and broad with the intention of stumbling upon anything incriminating rather than targeting already evidence-backed claims.
“Never na nag-fishing expedition ang House. What we did are all in accordance with what is provided in the Rules on Impeachment, the Constitution, and even the existing jurisprudence. In fact, I always say, we followed the rules to the letters. Ibig sabihin, hanggang sa kaliit-liitang punto ng rules, sinunod ng House of Representatives,” Luistro said.
The impeachment trial, which began today, July 6, covered mainly preliminary matters. Tomorrow, the trial seeks to tackle the grave threats Vice President Duterte made against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
