Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro is highlighting the empty chair narrative ahead of the plenary vote on the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.

The empty chair is a figure of speech for the Vice President's non-participation in her own impeachment proceedings, which the House Committee on Justice's essentially wrapped up on Monday morning, May 4.

Luistro chairs the committee, which for the past few weeks have been building the case against the respondent, Duterte based on the impeachment complaints filed against her this year.

“Sa gitna ng lahat ng ebidensyang ito, sa kabila ng lahat ng diskusyon natin, may isang bagay na hindi nagbago: Ang upuan. Isang bakanteng upuan (Amid of all this evidence, despite all our discussions, one thing has not changed: The chair. An empty chair),” Luistro said in her speech during the committee’s final hearing on the impeachment.

“Sa bawat ebidensya, walang direktang sagot. Sa bawat tanong, walang paliwanag (With every piece of evidence, no direct answer. With every question, no explanation),” she added.

Luistro said the panel had waited for Duterte to personally appear and answer the allegations under oath, but to no avail.

“Naghintay tayo ng salaysay mula sa Bise Presidente sa ilalim ng panunumpa, pero ang tanging humarap sa atin ay ang katahimikan ng isang bakanteng upuan (We waited for a statement from the Vice President under oath, but the only thing that faced us was the silence of an empty chair),” the lawyer-legislator from Batangas pointed out.

Luistro said the committee had reached the point where extending the process further would no longer serve the proceedings.

“[On] April 29, the Committee on Justice decided that we have seen enough,” Luistro said, referring to when the committee members voted to declare the existence of probable cause in the impeachment case.

“No need to give one more chance to someone who refuses to attend. Sabi nga ni [Akbayan Party-list] Cong. Perci Cendaña, ‘Hindi na kailangan ng make-up class ang laging nag-cu-cutting class,’” Luistro recalled.

(As Akbayan Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña said, ‘There is no need for a make-up class for someone who is always cutting class.')

During Monday's hearing, the justice panel approved its committee report as well as the articles of impeachment against Duterte.

The actual voting in plenary on these panel submissions is expected to take place on May 11.

The chairperson acknowledged that the committee members faced exhaustion and public pressure as the proceedings drew attacks from outside the hearing room.

“We saw the press conferences of the Vice President’s camp, we saw the petitions filed in the Supreme Court (SC) and the complaint filed in the Office of the City Prosecutor,” Luistro noted.

“Opo, maraming hakbang ang ginawa upang pigilan ang prosesong ito, pero sa kabila ng lahat, hindi tayo natinag (Yes, many steps were taken to block this process, but despite everything, we did not waver)," Luistro said.