BATANGAS Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” R. Luistro on Thursday defended the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, emphasizing its legitimacy, constitutionality, and adherence to due process despite facing legal challenges and allegations of procedural flaws.
“First, ang sabi po nila, we did not follow the rules on verification. It is clear in our Constitution that Congress shall promulgate its own rules on impeachment. And to be precise, we followed word for word the rules of the 19th Congress of the Philippines in as far as the verification is concerned,” Luistro, a member of the 11-man House prosecution panel, declared in a television interview.
Luistro, a lawyer, dismissed claims that the verification process was flawed, emphasizing that the complaint was properly signed and affirmed by 215 House members.
“Second, they also made mention that the verification was only inserted days after the filing in the Senate. Hindi po ito totoo. As a matter of fact, during the caucus, which is the same time when the 215 members of the House affixed their signatures, the verification page is already incorporated in the complaint. It was on the same day, it was on the same occasion kung saan nanumpa po ang ating mga kongresista kaugnay ng verification na kinakailangan dito sa impeachment complaint na ito,” Luistro explained.
“Let us all be reminded, most of the grounds ay subject matter po ng investigation in the Quad Comm and even in the Committee on Good Government. I wish to share that as early as last year, when the three impeachment complaints were filed, nagkaroon na po ng individual evaluation ang ating mga congressman and it was because of the intercession of the political parties that made us team up with this fourth impeachment complaint to be able to catch up with the limited number of sessions that were remaining, saving the impeachment process from the alleged one-year prescription period,” Luistro said.
“Ang sabi po nila the Vice President was denied due process, and we beg to
disagree. As a matter of fact, a summons will be issued to her. She will be asked to answer, and she will be given time to present her evidence. This is what due process is all about,” she said.
Addressing accusations that the complaint violated the one-year impeachment rule, Luistro set the record straight, by saying “and finally, about the one-year prohibition period. Ang sabi po ng batas, one impeachment only every year. It was not made mention that it should be resolved within the same year. In other words, in our humble opinion, ‘yun pong filed namin or even if we consider the first three impeachment complaints.”
She further noted that the first three impeachment complaints were not formally transmitted, meaning the one-year bar applies only from November 2025 if counted from them, or February 2026 if counted from the consolidated fourth complaint.
“Although hindi naman po ito na-refer ng Office of the Secretary General. If we will be referring to the first three impeachment complaints, the one year prohibition will apply until November of 2025. But if we will be referring to the fourth impeachment complaint, which I believe is a consolidation of the three impeachment complaints, the prohibition period will take effect in February of 2026. ‘Yun pong sinasabing one year prohibition period, it means one year from the date of filing. It does not mean within the year the
same was filed,” Luistro added.
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