Chel Diokno to join prosecution team in Sara Duterte impeachment trial
FILE PHOTO: Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno. 好色先生TV/Ryan Leagogo
MANILA, Philippines — Akbayan Party-list first nominee Atty. Chel Diokno, a known human-rights lawyer, will be joining the House of Representatives’ prosecution team for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
The party-list on Wednesday said that they received the invitation from the House of Representatives to be part of the prosecution panel once the Senate starts the impeachment trial.
“As the principal endorser of the first impeachment complaint and after thorough party deliberations, we extend our full support to this historic process of accountability,” Akbayan said in a statement.
“Incoming Akbayan Representative Atty. Chel Diokno will join the House prosecution panel,” Akbayan noted.
READ: First impeachment complaint vs VP Sara filed at House
According to the unofficial and partial results as of 5:25 p.m., Akbayan currently leads the party-list race with 2,750,880 votes. The party-list is expected to get three seats in the lower chamber.
Mamamayang Liberal Party-list first nominee and former Sen. Leila de Lima will also be joining the prosecution team. She said on Wednesday that she accepted the invitation from House Speaker Martin Romualdez himself.
In a statement, Romualdez said that Diokno and De Lima’s “potential inclusion in the prosecution panel would add credibility, balance, and depth to this constitutionally mandated process.”
READ: De Lima accepts House invitation to join impeachment prosec team
The first impeachment complaint filed by civil society organizations against Duterte in December was endorsed by Akbayan Party-list Rep. Percival Cerdaña. According to the complaint, the grounds of the impeachment are: culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes.
Two other impeachment raps were filed against Duterte, where the lawmakers consolidated the three petitions, leading to a verified complaint filed before the House plenary last February.
Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives on the same day, with 215 lawmakers signing the verified complaint.
The Senate is expected to begin its trial in July, after the fourth State Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. During the 20th Congress, the full roster of senators will act as judges in the impeachment court.
