ML Partylist first nominee Leila de Lima is confident that the House Prosecution Panel will secure a conviction at the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
“Malinaw na malakas ang ebidensiya against the vice president,” De Lima told reporters in a phone interview.
(It is clear that the evidence against the vice president is strong.)
“The prosecution would always have that feeling of confidence. And that’s why I agreed to be part of the prosecution because I believe that there is merit in the case and the evidence is strong,” she added.
De Lima also cited the crucial role of “public opinion” when asked how Duterte’s allies at the Senate may affect the impeachment.
“Open and public yung proceedings, right? So many people, ang dami talaga na manonood ng proceedings na yan. So kung talagang malakas ang ebidensya at maayos ang pagkakapresenta, malinaw ang pagkakapresenta ng prosecution panel, magiging malinaw din yan sa kaisipan ng mga tao. And therefore, magiging factor yung public opinion,” she explained.
(The proceedings are open and public, right? So many people, many people will actually watch those proceedings. So if the evidence is really strong and well presented and the presentation of the prosecution panel is clear, that will also be clear in the minds of the people. And therefore, public opinion will be a factor.)
“Yung mga individual senators who will be voting for either acquittal or conviction will have to take that into consideration, na ultimately ang huhusga ay yung taongbayan,” she added.
(Ultimately, the people will be the judge.)
“Kung magkamali ang Senado, magkamali ang majority ng mga senator sa pagpasya, either for acquittal or for conviction, ay ultimately mananagot sa taong bayan.”
(If the Senate makes a mistake, the majority of senators make a mistake in deciding, either for acquittal or for conviction, they will ultimately be held accountable to the people.)
Romualdez
De Lima also gave details of her conversation yesterday with House Speaker Martin Romualdez on the offer for her to join the House Prosecution Panel.
“Yesterday afternoon around 4:00, tumawag na. I got a call from Speaker Romualdez and he told me about it. First, he congratulated me and then he said that they would be delighted or it would be good for the prosecution team if I join them,” recalled De Lima.
Based on GMA Network’s partial and unofficial count of the 2025 midterm local and national elections as of 11:48 a.m. on Thursday, De Lima’s ML Partylist ranks 14th with 541,134 votes or 1.32% of all votes received.
Where the numbers stand, ML’s performance is good for one House seat as it is within the 63 party-list seats that need to be filled out.
“So when he asked about it, are you amenable, do you agree? Sabi ko, okay. Although at first, I said, can I give it a serious thought and consideration? Sabi niya, we need your immediate answer because we are making plans already, etc. So I said yes. I consulted, of course, kasamahan ko sa ML and also my lawyers,” de Lima said.
(He said, we need your immediate answer because we are making plans already, etc. So I said yes. I consulted, of course, my colleague at ML and also my lawyers.)
Vendetta?
De Lima also said that she and the speaker have not yet discussed what Article of Impeachment she preferred and that this may be discussed when the House Prosecution Panel meets.
She also noted that her inclusion in the House Prosecution Panel is “not about partisan politics,” nor is it fueled by her desire to exact vengeance on the Dutertes.
A vocal critic of the Duterte administration and its deadly war on drugs, De Lima was held in detention for seven years on three drug charges, all of which were later dropped. The former solon was released in November 2023.
“I’m not doing this out of anything, out of any other motive except to uphold truth, justice, and accountability… I’m sure people, some people would again be saying na maybe she’s doing this out of vendetta, out of vindictiveness. No, hindi po,” De Lima said.
“This is not about politics, this is not about personalities. It’s just about upholding the Constitution, particularly the high principle of accountability of public officials holding high government offices like the vice president,” she added. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
