House preparations for impeachment trial to continue amid reconciliation talk
The House prosecution panel will prepare for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte with the "same vigor and eagerness" as before President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said he was open to reconciliation with the Duterte family.
San Juan Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora, a member of the House prosecution panel, made the remark amid fears that the statement on reconciliation might affect the prosecution of the Vice President in the impeachment trial.
'If there are charges against the vice president such as the impeachment case, I believe that he's open to having that, having the impeachment proceedings go through. But I think it's just natural for him to be polite,' Zamora told reporters.
But Zamora said their level of preparations has not changed.
'We will pursue it with the same eagerness, same vigor as before,' Zamora said.
Zamora said that the stand of the members of the House of Representatives who signed the impeachment complaint remained.
'We have to remember that more than 200 plus congressmen signed it. And I would like to believe that these congressmen thought about their signatures on the impeachment," Zamora said.
"For example, there was Congressman Rufus Rodriguez who spoke before all of us and talked about different scenarios that could be had. So I would like to think that congressmen will stand by their signatures and see the proceedings through," she added.
"As for us prosecutors, we will always stand by our job and we will do our best to prosecute the case. We are here. I said before that we are doing this para sa bayan kaya dapat naming ipagpatuloy ito,' Zamora said.
The House Prosecution Panel in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will resume their weekly meetings this week in preparation for the trial.
Bayan Muna chairperson Atty. Neri Colmenares, one of the lawyers in one of the complaints in the impeachment, said the president's softer stance sent a dangerous message.
"This sends a dangerous signal that accountability is negotiable under his administration, a betrayal of the people's demand for justice," Colmenares said.
Zamora also said that the impeachment was not a factor in the defeat of several candidates in Eleksyon 2025.
'For me, Mindanao is really the base of the Dutertes. They will always get a lot of support for their candidates, meaning the Duterten candidates. So I would think that it's not surprising if the Alyansa candidates did not get a lot of votes there," Zamora said.
"But I want to make it clear also that support for the impeachment does not mean or did not spell loss for any Alyansa or congressional candidates who supported the impeachment. We saw there were Alyansa candidates who won, there were Liberal candidates who won, and in the congressional race, majority of those who supported the impeachment won as well,' she added.
Zamora said that the House Prosecution Panel will do their best in the impeachment trial even if there is a leadership change in the House of Representatives.
But Zamora added she continues to support House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
'I will always support our Speaker Martin so I don't know about the other names that have been floating around,' Zamora said.
Zamora also mentioned that there is a manifesto of support for Marcos and for Romualdez. —NB, GMA Integrated News
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