Iloilo 3rd district Rep. Lorenz Defensor has warned Filipinos that they might one day need to unseat an "evil leader" through the constitutional process of impeachment, which he says must never be compromised.

Defensor painted this scenario amid the perceived delays and roadblocks being thrown against the conduct of the Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

"Every Filipino should watch this impeachment. Bantayan natin ito kasi para ito sa taumbayan (This is for the people, therefore we should keep a close eye on it)," said Defensor, who is part of the prosecution team in the impeachment case.

The Iloilo lawmaker expressed concern over the impact of certain precedence that the Senate impeachment court had been setting, particularly on the attempt to dismiss Vice President Duterte's case outright, without a constitutionally-mandated trial.

"Balang araw kung sakaling magkaroon tayo ng napakasamang lider, at pwede palang i-dismiss ang isang impeachment para tanggalin ang napakasamang lider ng isang bansa, hindi pwedeng mangyari yun--ganun lang kadali para makaiwas ka ng pagtanggal sa ilalim mismo ng Konstitusyon," Defensor said.

(One day, if we ever have a leader that is so evil, we can't allow it that an impeachment case to unseat this evil leader of a country can be dismissed like that--that easily, just so you could avoid being removed in a constitutional manner.)

The top two elected officials in the Philippines--the president and vice president--can both be subjected to impeachment.

In an impeachment proceeding, the House of Representatives prepares the impeachment complaint against the official and then forms a team of solon-prosecutors. Meanwhile, the other legislative chamber--the Senate--is tasked to conduct the trial, with the senators taking on the role of judges.

The House prosecution team has been waiting for the senator-judges to start the trial on Duterte since the submission of the articles of impeachment to the Senate last Feb. 5--over five months ago.

Since then, the senator-judges have returned the impeachment articles to the House and flirted with dismissing the case outright, among other things.

The Senate impeachment court is currently waiting for a certification from the House if it will pursue Duterte's impeachment in the 20th Congress, which won't officially convene until July 28.

"Pero dapat maintindihan ng taumbayan, na kapag may isang lider na balang araw, gustong gusto at kailangang kailangang tanggalin, hindi dapat nilalagyan ng kondisyon kasi proteksyon ito para sa sambayanan at sa bawat Pilipino," Defensor said.

(But the people must understand that if, one day, there is a leader who absolutely must be removed, there should be no conditions placed on that action, because it serves as protection for the nation and every Filipino.)