THE question of impartiality among some senator-judges continues to cast a shadow over the looming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, as certain senators have already shown signs of partiality and should consider stepping aside.
“It is a clear basis. It is a legal basis. It’s a just basis,” former senator and now incoming Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila De Lima said Saturday, referring to the public statements and actions of pro-Duterte senators.
“Pero ang nag-decide yan … sila, voluntary,” De Lima told Laban para sa Karapatan radio program hosted by Atty. Lorna Kapunan and Jaime Regalario over dwIZ.
De Lima, who will officially join the House of Representatives at noon on June 30, made the remarks during an interview questioning the conduct of senators who had previously joined Duterte on foreign trips and openly praised her amid the impeachment process.
She noted that the two senators, Imee Marcos and Robin Padilla, had even accompanied the Vice President to Kuala Lumpur while already constituted as members of the Senate impeachment court.
The issue emerged following criticism from civil society, legal experts and academic institutions after Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s initiated a a motion to dismiss the impeachment case.
De Lima pointed out that several senators have begun acting less like judges and more like defense counsels, even making preemptive public statements that mirror the defense narrative.
“Talaga namang halatang-halata na sila. Pagsasalita even sa conduct nila,” De Lima said. “Remember may dalawang Senador na sinamahan pa si VP Sara sa Kuala Lumpur. Imagine that.”
De Lima clarified that the prosecution cannot force any senator-judge to inhibit.
However, she said the acts of several senators, including public endorsements of Duterte as the next president, go beyond the bounds of propriety.
“Kung sa basehan, may basehan. Malinaw ang basehan. What else can you call that kundi pagkiling,” she said.
“Saan ka nakakita ng isang korte ng isang judge na nag-file at nag-move for dismissal? Hindi po ‘yan nangyayari,” she added.
De Lima said it ultimately depends on a senator’s own sense of propriety.
“So nasa concerned judge na ‘yan kung meron syang delicadeza, kung may sense of propriety,” De Lima said. “Ordinarily he should, doon sa mga pinakita na nila na mga asal.”
When asked about public expectations surrounding the trial, De Lima said the people have a right to know the truth and must not be denied a full airing of the evidence in public.
“Karapatan ng taong bayan na malaman ang katotohanan. Hindi ito political persecution na sinasabi nila,” De Lima said.
“Yung kaso ko, ‘yun ang political persecution. Pero ito, tungkol po ito sa katotohanan, hustisya at pananagutan,” De Lima added.
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