House Committee on Justice Chairperson Rep. Gerville Luistro on Saturday said she found it “quite difficult to understand” the statement of Senator Robin Padilla regarding the minority bloc’s reported intention to oppose the convening of the Senate impeachment court should an impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte be transmitted by the House of Representatives.
Speaking at a news forum in Quezon City, Luistro said she respects Padilla but believes his position lacks clear legal or factual basis.
“I respect Senator Robin but his statement is quite difficult to understand in the absence of reason or basis why we should not proceed to mandating the impeachment court,” Luistro said.
Her remarks came after Padilla earlier stated that the Senate minority would oppose the convening of an impeachment court if the House transmits Articles of Impeachment against Duterte.
Padilla said the role of the minority is to oppose government actions, including impeachment proceedings.
“Ang papel naman ng minority to oppose. Hindi lang impeachment. Lahat ng bagay dito, ang trabaho namin ay i-oppose. So sana, huwag kami pagbintangan. Kapag kami ay nag-oppose, huwag kaming sabihan na kami ay biased,” Padilla said in a previous media interview.
Luistro emphasized that if members of the Senate minority bloc oppose the process, they should clearly explain their reasoning.
“Eh kung ang Supreme Court nga to this date, they are not issuing TRO, not issuing an injunction, he should give us opportunity to hear first: ano ba ang dahilan niyo why you are against convening the impeachment court?” she said.
Luistro also emphasized that impeachment is a political process that should ultimately serve the public interest.
“His reason is that just because they are opposition, they will be going against convening the impeachment court or going against the impeachment,” she said.
”That's very difficult to understand. This is a political exercise. What is at stake is the best interest of the sovereign Filipino people,” Lustro added.
