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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider De Lima, Diokno accept offer to be part of House prosecution panel

De Lima, Diokno accept offer to be part of House prosecution panel

Published May 14, 2025 06:42 pm
Former senator Leila de Lima and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno have accepted the offer to be part of the House prosecution panel in the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno and former senator Leila de Lima (Facebook)
“The House Speaker has invited me to serve on the prosecution panel for the upcoming impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte. I have accepted,” De Lima, who will presumably soon take a seat in the House of Representatives as a first nominee of Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Partylist, said in a statement on Wednesday, May 14.

Diokno, the incoming Akbayan Partylist representative, will also be joining the House prosecution panel.

“Buong tapang na tinatanggap ng Akbayan ang bagong kabanata ng laban para sa katarungan at pananagutan (Akbayan wholeheartedly accepts this new chapter in our fight for justice and accountability),” Akbayan Partylist, which currently has the highest number of votes in the 2025 midterm polls for partylists, said in a separate statement.

Both De Lima and Diokno are allied with the so-called genuine opposition. Both of them ran as senators in the 2022 presidential polls under former vice president Leni Robredo’s slate.

“My decision comes from a place of duty and principle. I have always stood for truth, accountability, and the rule of law—across different administrations, regardless of political affiliation. That commitment remains unchanged,” De Lima added.

The former senator, who was detained for seven years on trumped-up drug charges by the Duterte administration, cleared that her decision “is not about personalities or partisan politics.”

“It is about honoring the public trust and the responsibilities that come with it. My participation is one part of the broader agenda for Justice and Reform—an agenda I intend to pursue fully as I take my place in the House of Representatives,” she said.

De Lima was the head of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and former secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

She was instrumental in looking into former president Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs in Davao City when he was mayor and again, in the whole country, when he was president.

For its part, Akbayan extended its “full support to this historic process of accountability” as the principal endorser of the first impeachment complaint against the Vice President.

Joining De Lima and Diokno in the prosecution team are Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, San Juan Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora, Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor, Bukidnon Rep. Jonahan Keith Flores, Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop, Oriental Mindoro Rep. Arnan Panaligan, Manila Rep. Joel Chua, 4Ps Partylist Rep. Marcelino Libanan, and 1-Rider Partylist Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez.

The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, is set to start the impeachment proceedings against Duterte in July.

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte last Feb. 5. The Articles of Impeachment were transmitted to the Senate on the same day, but the upper chamber took a recess without tackling the issue.

In the verified complaint sent to Senate, there were seven Articles of Impeachment—betrayal of public trust for an assassination threat against President Marcos, his wife, and the House Speaker, betrayal of public trust and graft and corruption due to the misuse of public funds, betrayal of public trust and bribery within the Department of Education (DepEd), violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust due to unexplained wealth, commission of high crimes due to involvement in extrajudicial killings, betrayal of public trust due to alleged destabilization plots, and betrayal of public trust due to her unbecoming conduct as Vice President.

Related Tags

Leila de Lima Chel Diokno House prosecution panel impeachment trial Sara Duterte
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