One of the people helping to lead the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte said they are not stressing out too much about what might happen in the future—especially with the elections coming soon. Instead, they are choosing to focus on the facts and evidence they already have.
This person is Congressman Jonathan Keith Flores from Bukidnon. He is one of the 11 House prosecutors who will be part of the impeachment trial. During an online press talk, he explained that right now, each prosecutor is focusing on doing well in their own area or district because they also have to win re-election if they want to keep working on this case.
“We haven’t talked much about the surveys,” Flores said. “We all have our own elections to worry about. To keep our jobs and continue as public prosecutors, we first need to win where we live.”
Flores was asked if they were worried because some candidates for the Senate—who are friends or allies of former President Rodrigo Duterte (Sara Duterte’s dad)—are doing really well in early surveys. He said that if more Duterte allies win in the Senate, it might be harder to get them to vote to remove the Vice President, since the impeachment trial is also a political process. That means emotions, loyalty, and public opinion could affect how the senators vote.
Still, Flores made it clear: the team will do what they must—stick to the evidence. “Like in any trial, all we can do is show what proof we have. That’s how you win a case,” he said.
Here’s a little background for you: Former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on March 11. He’s now in jail in the Netherlands, in the International Criminal Court (ICC). He’s facing big accusations like crimes against humanity because of his deadly drug war while he was president, and also because of killings linked to the so-called “Davao Death Squad” when he was still mayor.
Even though this was a major blow to the Duterte family’s name, some of Duterte’s close friends—like Senator Bong Go and Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa—are doing great in early election polls. Both are currently among the top five Senate candidates.
Flores explained that at the end of the day, the Senate will be the ones to decide. They’re the judges in the impeachment trial. He admitted that even if senators say they will only look at the facts, they’re still people—and they may listen to what regular citizens are saying too.
“For us prosecutors, our main job is to focus on the facts and present strong evidence,” he said. “We have to do that no matter who wins in the Senate.”
