Sen. Bato dela Rosa Speaks on VP Sara Duterte Impeachment Trial
BATO DELA ROSA – The Senator assured that he will vote based on evidence if he gets the chance to be a senator-judge in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero has issued a proposed timetable for the impeachment trial of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. If it gets the senators’ nod, the impeachment trial will start on July 30. According to the Senate President, they will discuss the matter when the session resumes in June.
Meanwhile, Escudero assured that his office continues to work on the matter despite being on a session break. There is an ongoing review of the rules for impeachment and the drafting of the amendments.
Sen. Koko Pimentel has also offered to help in the drafting of the rules for impeachment which Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero accepted. The latter has instructed his legal team to coordinate with Pimentel.
Currently, there are no details yet as to who will be the senator-judges in the impeachment trial of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. Based on a report on PhilStar, there are calls for the senators who are allies of the Dutertes to inhibit themselves as judges of the impeachment court.
Among the senators who are allies of the Duterte family are Sen. Bato dela Rosa and Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go. Recently, the former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) spoke on his side if he will be one of the senator-judges in the impeachment trial of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte.
According to the report, Sen. Bato dela Rosa assured that he will base his vote on the pieces of evidence that will be presented in the impeachment trial of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. Citing his interview on One News’ Storycon, the Senator has reacted to the insinuations that he will right away vote for the acquittal of the Vice President.
“In impeachment, we know that that is a political exercise. So political leanings of the sitting senators will be a factor to that. But then again, with respect to the institution where I belong, I have not said anything yet that I will not vote for her conviction,” Sen. Bato dela Rosa said.
Recently, a House leader has reacted to Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s camp taking Atty. Michael Poa, her former spokesman, as one of her lawyers. It is allegedly an attempt to prevent him from testifying against his former boss.