Zubiri calls VP Sara impeachment a witch hunt; House prosecutors slam ‘insult'

GMA Network

a day ago

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri on Tuesday described the looming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte as a "witch hunt," which in turn drew a sharp rebuke from House prosecutors.
'I think that it is a witch hunt because they want to remove her from public service; para 'yung iba makaupo [so that others may take her place]. At 'yung iba ay mawawalan ng kandidato na kalaban pagdating sa halalan ng 2028,' Zubiri alleged.
(And some people will lose a rival in the 2028 election.)
Still, Zubiri said, the Senate impeachment court will have to do what is right.
'I'll set my bias aside because we have to follow the process. There is a process under the Constitution. It cannot be changed. If we violate that, then we violate our oath of office when we say that we will defend and protect the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. We have to do what is right here,' he said.
Article 11 Section 4 of the Constitution states that, 'In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.'
The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on February 5, with over 200 lawmakers—more than the one-third required—endorsing the complaint. The Vice President was accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes over alleged misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential funds and for threatening to kill President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr., his wife Liza and his Speaker Martin Romualdez of Leyte.
The trial, after delays, is expected to start after the 20th Congress opens session on July 28.
'Insult to the House'
At least two House prosecutors, Iloilo Representative Lorenz Defensor of Iloilo and ML party-list Representative Leila de Lima, pushed back against Zubiri's remark.
'It's very unbecoming of a senator-judge in an impeachment trial to say that the impeachment complaint and the trial is a witch hunt. Those words should not come from a Senator-judge who is expected to receive the evidence with impartiality and to treat the impeachment as a constitutional process,' Defensor told reporters.
'Sana hindi na maulit yun [I hope that does not happen again]. Maybe let's limit our statements to how the process should go about during the trial, and not on the substance, Let's wait for the evidence and let's wait for their decision instead of calling it a witch hunt,' he said.
Defensor stressed that the impeachment is a constitutional process that must be adhered to, not an action taken whenever a person sees fit.
'This is a constitutional process which must proceed to find justice not for the complainants, but for the Filipinos. If it's an acquittal, we should accept it. If it's a conviction, we should accept it. But they [senators] should receive the evidence first,' he said.
De Lima, for her part, said Zubiri's comment is unfair, given the gravity of the allegations against the Vice President.
'It's really unfortunate. It's an insult to the House as the initiator of the impeachment process, and an insult to the various groups that filed those first three impeachment complaints,' she said.
"That's so unfair because as far as the House is concerned, may batayan [there is a foundation]. Kaya nga in-impeach, pinirmahan ng more than one-third of the members of the House of Representatives,' de Lima added.
(That is why more than one-third of all members of the House signed off on this.)
De Lima said senator-judges should avoid making public their biases on the impeachment.
"Ibig sabihin ng witch hunt, walang batayan, para lang mang-harass, para lang i-persecute ka. Yun ang ibig sabihin ng witch hunt, which is far from the very characteristics of this impeachment trial. So sana they avoid mga ganyan mga comments which exhibit their personal biases with respect to the impeachment issues," de Lima said.
(In a witch hunt there is no basis, and is only to harass and persecute. That is what a witch hunt means, which is far from the very characteristics of this impeachment trial. So I wish they would avoid these kinds of comments, which exhibit their personal biases with respect to the impeachment issues.)
"Witch hunt is out of the question here. You talk about witch hunt kung walang basahan [if there is no basis]. Pwede yun siguro dun sa mga ginawa nila sa akin [You can use it to describe what they did to me]. The past administration, kinusuhan na po ng mga [they charged me with] trumped-up bogus charges, yung witch hunt kangaroo hearing," she added.
The legislator also criticized Zubiri's pronouncement that despite his biases, he still wants the impeachment trial to continue because they have to follow what is stated in the Constitution.
"Parang pro forma na lang. Yun ang parang pinaka-sense noong kanyang sinasabi. Kailangan sundin ang konstitusyon pero pro forma na lang yan. I mean, 'yun ang interpretation ko sa mga sinabi niya. It's really unfortunate. It's an insult to the House as the initiator of the impeachment process. Also an insult to the various groups that filed those first three impeachment complaints bago nag-adopt diretso yung [before the fourth was adopted by] more than one-third of the members of the House," de Lima stressed.
(It sounds as if they're doing it pro forma. That's the sense from what he's saying. The Constitution must be followed but only as a matter of form. I mean, that's how I interpret what he said.)
She also added that Duterte should take this opportunity to clear her name.
"At hindi ba dapat i-welcome ito ni VP Sara? Kasi ngayon ang pagkakataon na ihayag niya yung kanyang mga depensa, i-explain niya yung mga akusasyon laban sa kanya. At hindi ba pag wala namang kasalanan, dapat hindi matakot? Akala ko ba, because she's been saying about, she said before about the bloodbath pero bakit gusto niyang ipa-dismiss yung impeachment case," de Lima said.
(And shouldn't VP Sara welcome this? this is her opportunity to put forward her defense against the allegations against her. And isn't it, 'If you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear?' And she talked about the bloodbath so why does she want the impeachment case dismissed.) — BM, GMA Integrated News