MANILA, Philippines — Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said Thursday that the House prosecution panel has confidence in the Senate’s impeachment process regardless of whether acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, Sen. Francis Escudero, or former Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano presides over the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Speaking at a press briefing, Luistro, who serves as lead public prosecutor, said the proceedings focus on accountability rather than the individuals involved in the trial.
Luistro said the prosecution panel has faith in the Senate’s accountability mechanisms and expressed confidence in any of the three officials should they preside over the proceedings.
She said the panel’s position applies whether the presiding officer is Gatchalian, Escudero, or Cayetano.
Luistro also addressed questions regarding Escudero’s role in the previous impeachment proceedings against Duterte during the 19th Congress.
She said the circumstances surrounding the earlier impeachment effort differed from those involved in the current proceedings and urged observers not to judge Escudero solely on the basis of events connected to the earlier case.
Escudero served as Senate president when the first impeachment complaint against Duterte reached the Senate in February 2025 after 215 members of the House of Representatives endorsed a fourth impeachment complaint.
At the time, some lawmakers and legal observers criticized the pace of proceedings, arguing that the Constitution’s requirement that impeachment cases proceed “forthwith” called for more immediate action.
Among those who commented on the issue was former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who questioned the delay in the process.
The controversy later became moot when the Supreme Court ruled on July 25, 2025, that the Articles of Impeachment were unconstitutional because they violated the one-year bar rule under the 1987 Constitution.
Luistro said the House prosecution panel remains prepared to proceed with the impeachment trial regardless of who ultimately serves as presiding officer.
