The House prosecution team believes that the senator-judges in Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment case should voluntarily inhibit themselves for showing bias toward the lady official.

Thus, said San Juan City lone district Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora in an interview Monday, June 16, when asked if the prosecutors were eyeing such inhibition.

For the motion for inhibition, we are discussing that as a panel. At sa totoo lang po ang paniwala namin (And to be honest our belief is that), it is a voluntary act on the part of the judges, Zamora said.

The young lawyer-legislator said that in ordinary cases, the rules of court provide that parties may move for the inhibition of a judge based on relationship.

For example, if the judges related to the parties or to the counsel, then the lawyers may move for a refusal of the judge. [But] it is really up to the judge to voluntarily inhibit himself or refuse himself from proceeding with trial, Zamora said.

In a Senate impeachment court, all senators serve as the magistrates, while certain House members or congressmen are tasked to act as prosecutors. It is also the House's duty to verify and endorse the impeachment complaint.

Ganon din po (It's the same way here), I believe ang i-adopt po natin dito po sa impeachment trial (I believe that what we will adopt in the impeachment trial is that), it should be the senator-judges who will voluntarily inhibit themselves upon showing that they exhibited partiality or bias in favor of the Vice President, Zamora said.

Asked if the prosecution panel was inclined to induce the senator-judges into doing so via motion, the lady solon from San Juan said they would rather not be branded as delaying the impeachment proceedings.

Again, well, we are discussing that but we don't want to give any further reason for the other side to say or to accuse the House prosecution of delay in the impeachment trial, she said.

The call for the inhibition of senators allied with Vice President Duterte stemmed from a motion to dismiss the impeachment case outright, without conducting a hearing.

This motion, introduced by Ronald Bato dela Rosa--a senator-judge--was ultimately amended as to return the articles of impeachment to its origin, the House of Representatives.

Senate President Francis Chiz Escudero, the presiding judge, carried the motion after the impeachment court voted 18-5 (yes-no).