The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte is prepared to face the allegations against her should the Articles of Impeachment be elevated to the Senate, legal counsel Atty. Michael Poa said on Thursday, April 30.
During an interview on DZRH's Damdaming Bayan, Poa expressed confidence that the vice president’s legal team can prove before the Senate impeachment court that Duterte is innocent of the complaints filed against her.
He said the camp is ready for any developments following the finding of probable cause by the House Justice Committee.
“Handa naman po ang defense team ng ating bise presidente. Hindi lang para depensehan siya, pero para maipakita rin sa ating mga kababayan na walang basehan yung mga binabatong alegasyon laban sa kanya,” Poa said.
He added that the outcome of the committee’s vote on Wednesday did not come as a surprise to them, citing what he described as the direction already being taken by the panel.
According to Poa, the next step would involve the preparation of a committee report and its elevation to the plenary, where a one-third vote is required to transmit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate.
Poa emphasized that while they are monitoring developments, the defense team is not waiving its objections, noting that they have already filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) questioning the proceedings.
“Aabangan po natin ‘yung magiging developments although hindi namin winewaive yung objections namin dahil meron tayong petition before the Supreme Court,” he said.
He also addressed Duterte’s absence from the House Justice Committee hearings, saying it was a manifestation of their objection to what they believe are proceedings that no longer conform to legal standards.
However, he clarified that this does not mean they are taking the impeachment process lightly.
“Parte ng kanyang trabaho bilang Bise Presidente, hindi po pwede tumigil ang trabaho ng bise presidente, dahil lang po may mga ganitong alegasyon laban sa kanya,” Poa said.
Poa explained that their objection stems from what they view as the committee’s actions going beyond the scope of initiating impeachment. He argued that certain discussions and proceedings resemble a trial, which should properly take place in the Senate, not at the committee level.
“Meron talaga tayong objection doon sa naging mga proceedings or nature ng mga proceedings sa kino-conduct. ‘Yan nga po yung naging sanhi. Kaya tayo nag-file ng petisyon sa Korte Suprema questioning yung proceedings dahil sa aming pananaw ay hindi na po saklaw ng initiation ng impeachment ang nangyayari or kahit ihanlin tulad nila sa preliminary investigation,” Poa said.
He added, “Ang pananaw kasi natin, venturing into trial na po kasi yung mga nagaganap dyan na sa tingin namin ay dapat sa Senado na ginagawa at hindi dito sa Committee on Justice.“
Despite these concerns, Poa assured that Duterte will participate in the impeachment process if it reaches the Senate. He noted that her physical presence would depend on whether it is necessary for specific hearings or trial dates.
“Definitely, we will participate in the proceedings. Ngayon, yung presence mismo ng bise presidente, it will depend kasi kung kinakailangan na nandun siya, depending kung yung incident for the day o yung trial date, kailangan nandun siya,” he said.
“Nakikita naman natin, hindi naman araw-araw na trial, kailangan nandun ang respondent. Pero sa atin, definitely kung umakyat ito sa Senate, we will participate without waiving yung aming objections dito sa nangyari kung papaano nagsimula itong Articles of impeachment. Kung paano yung proceedings dito sa Committee on Justice,” the Duterte camp noted.
In a unanimous vote, all 53 members of the justice panel backed the motion affirming the existence of probable cause in the impeachment complaints against Duterte.
Poa also confirmed that a group of lawyers will compose Duterte’s defense team, emphasizing that it will be a collective effort amid public observations about the number of legal counsel supporting the vice president.
