00:00Samatala ngayong araw po, nakatakdang isumitin ang House Prosecution Panel ng Pre-Trial Brief
00:05kaugnay sa Impeachment Trial ni Vice President Sara Duterte.
00:09At kaugnay po niyan, maka-usap natin ngayong umaga, House Lead Impeachment Prosecutor,
00:14Representative Jervil Luis Ro.
00:16Kong, magandang umaga po. Thank you for joining us.
00:19Good morning, Ivan, and thank you for having me here.
00:23Ma'am, pakipaliwanag po sa ating mga manonood,
00:25ano ba itong pre-trial brief at gano'y ito kahalaga sa isa sa gawang impeachment trial?
00:31Ito pong pre-trial brief ay naglalaman ng ating mga offer for stipulations
00:38na pwedeng i-admit na noong kabilang panig.
00:43So may listahan po tayo ng mga stipulation of facts
00:48na pwedeng ang sagot ng depensa admitted or not admitted.
00:53Ang layon po nito, bawasan yung mga pagtatalunan doon sa trial.
01:00Pangalawa, naglalaman din po ito ng listahan ng mga witnesses,
01:05testigo na atin pong i-prepresenta sa presentation of evidence or trial.
01:11At pangatlo, nilalaman din po nito ang mga dokumento
01:16na atin namang ilalatag dito din sa presentation ng evidence.
01:20The significance of this pre-trial brief,
01:24it serves like a blueprint, a roadmap,
01:28at ito po ang susundin sa atin pong pag-uumpisa ng paglilitis.
01:35And apparently, the rule is,
01:37yung nailagay mo lang sa pre-trial brief
01:40or napapaloob sa pre-trial order,
01:43yan lang ang pwede nating ilatag during the presentation of evidence.
01:47Yung phrase na rules of engagement comes to mind,
01:50ano po, parang ganun din yung pre-trial brief?
01:54Something like that, Ivan.
01:55Ano-ano naman po yung naasahang tatalakayin doon sa unang pre-trial conference
01:59na scheduled sa June 18 sa Webes?
02:03Well, una siyempre yung stipulation of facts, no?
02:06Kung alin doon sa listahan namin,
02:08ang pwedeng i-admit na ng depensa,
02:11at kung alin yung i-deny.
02:13Ganun din pagdating sa kanila.
02:15Meron din silang sariling stipulation of facts,
02:18papakinggan namin yun, susuriin,
02:21alin ang pwedeng payagan namin,
02:23at alin yung hindi.
02:24Yung papayagan, hindi na rin pagtatalunan sa trial.
02:28At yung i-deny naman ng magkabilang panig,
02:32kasama yun sa kailangan naming patunayan by way of presenting evidence.
02:37Ganun din yung pagdating sa list of witnesses and list of documents.
02:42In other words, yung nilalaman ng pre-trial brief ng prosecution at ng defense,
02:47dun yung tatalakayan pagdating ng pre-trial conference.
02:51And then after ng pre-trial conference,
02:54anuman, ang mapagkasunduan na,
02:56ito ang lalamanin naman ng pre-trial order
03:00at ito yung sinasabi mong rules of engagement.
03:03Ito yung pwedeng ihambing sa blueprint.
03:07Ito yung pwedeng ihambing sa roadmap
03:09na kung anong nakasaad sa pre-trial order,
03:13yan na dapat ang susundin sa ating presentation of evidence during the trial.
03:18Ma'am, habang kayo po'y nagahanda,
03:19yung prosecution and of course the defense nagahanda,
03:22nagkakaroon kayo ng pre-trial brief, pre-trial conference,
03:26hindi pa rin po nare-resolve ba yung issue sa leadership ng Senado?
03:29May nakikita ba kayong issue, posibleng loophole sa bilang ng Sen. Judges
03:34sa maaaring makaboto sa impeachment trial?
03:37Well, about the issue on leadership,
03:39we are really hoping na magkaroon ng duly elected Senate President.
03:47Of course, the House of Representatives recognize the legitimacy of acting SP,
03:56Winn Getsalian.
03:57We understand the doctrine of Avellino versus Cuenco.
04:02Napaka-enlightening nitong jurisprudence na ito.
04:06And as a matter of fact,
04:08nasundan pa ito ng marami pang cases
04:11na na-reduce din ang number of corum
04:16whenever there are members of the Senate
04:19who are outside the coercive power of the institution.
04:23Nevertheless, alam po natin kung gaano ka-sensitive itong impeachment trial na ito.
04:30As a matter of fact,
04:32noong 19 Congress,
04:34yung una nating impeachment
04:36na sa amin pong pananaw,
04:39with all due respect sa Supreme Court,
04:41ay nasunod naman
04:42yung second mode of
04:44filing and initiating an impeachment complaint.
04:48But nonetheless, because of concerns of due process
04:53na pre-announced ng Supreme Court na deklara ito na unconstitutional,
04:58we are quite apprehensive
05:00sapagkat napaka-sensitive nito,
05:03nitong impeachment trial na ito.
05:05And we do not want to encounter another issue of constitutionality.
05:12And that is why,
05:13while we recognize the legitimacy of
05:16the leadership of acting SP Wingat Shalyan,
05:20I think it will be best kung magkaroon talaga
05:22ng duly elected na Senate President.
05:25Now, about your question dun sa threshold,
05:31required number of votes for the purpose of conviction.
05:35Ito po'y akin lamang,
05:37pero I believe that the Constitution and the laws are evolving.
05:42Ibig sabihin,
05:44it must respond to the demands of time.
05:48Nakita na po natin yung sitwasyon
05:50na merong mga senador na nakulong,
05:55nagtatago,
05:56and perhaps in the past,
05:58senador na nasa abroad, no?
06:00And documents will show
06:03na sinunod yung Avelino versus Cuenco
06:07na reduce ang number of quorum
06:09because these senators
06:11were outside the coercive power of the Senate, no?
06:14Sa akin po,
06:17dapat ito po'y pag-aralan din.
06:19Kung posible bang,
06:21sundan din itong jurisprudence na ito.
06:23For the purpose of determining
06:25the number of required votes
06:27for the purpose of conviction.
06:29Hindi lang conviction,
06:30pati akwital, no?
06:33Ito po ang sa akin.
06:35Bakit ba tayo may mga senador?
06:37The purpose is
06:38to represent the Filipino people.
06:40Diba?
06:41So, kung ang ating senador ay nakakulong,
06:44kung ang ating senador ay nagtatago,
06:47kung ang ating senador ay nasa labas ng bansa,
06:49can we truly say
06:51that on that particular occasion,
06:53they are representing the interest
06:55of the sovereign Filipino people?
06:57Of course, the answer is no.
06:59So, kung walang pagdi-discharge ng function
07:02na i-represent
07:03ang taong bayan,
07:05I think it is but proper
07:07i-reduce ang threshold.
07:10At ang i-consider lang
07:12for the purpose of conviction or acquitant
07:15ay kung sino yung nakakatugon sa mandato.
07:17Because they are the ones
07:18who are truly representing
07:20the interest of the Filipino people.
07:23Itong gaganapin nating impeachment trial,
07:25this is one of the occasions
07:26when it is badly needed
07:29na merong tamang representation
07:31ng taong bayan.
07:33So, having said that,
07:34with the current composition of the Senate,
07:36wala ho si
07:37Sen. Jingo Estrada nakakulong,
07:40si Sen. Bato nagtatago.
07:42So, kung gagamitin po natin
07:44yung Avellino Doctrine,
07:4622, so one-third,
07:48I mean two-thirds of 22 senators.
07:50Tama ako ba?
07:51I agree with you.
07:53Following the doctrine of Avellino
07:55and anchoring the same further
07:57doon sa need to truly represent the people,
08:02it should be two-thirds of 22.
08:05Right now, ah?
08:06Right now.
08:07So, kung magbabago pa,
08:09magbabago yung ating base number.
08:13Yes.
08:13And of course,
08:14we submit na ito ay
08:17initially,
08:18dapat ito'y usapin ng Senado.
08:22But kung hindi sila magkasundo-sundo,
08:24I believe that this is a justiciable issue
08:27kasi yung two-thirds of all members of the Senate
08:31takapaloob talaga yun sa ating Constitution.
08:34So, it should be the Supreme Court
08:35who should pronounce
08:37kung ano talaga ang tamang numero
08:39for the purpose of conviction
08:41considering that there are members
08:44who are outside the coercive power
08:46of the Philippine Senate.
08:48Interesting how this will pan out.
08:50Congresswoman Luis Román,
08:51thank you very much for joining us.
08:52Thank you. Good morning.
08:55Ganon din po sa lahat ng mga sumusubaybay
08:57ng ating programa.
08:59Lead Impeachment Prosecutor
09:00Representative Jervil Luistro.
09:02Nakausap po natin.
