Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro and former three-term Surigao del Sur 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers have thumbed down the notion of online participation and voting among senator-judges as far as Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial is concerned.

This rather unconventional idea is being floated even as Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa is expected to go into hiding once again amid local authorities' intention to arrest him.

Dela Rosa, a former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, is considered a wanted man by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged killings committed during the previous Duterte administration's bloody war on drugs.

Senator Rodante Marcoleta--who is pro-Duterte like Dela Rosa--said the latter should be allowed to participate and vote through Zoom during the impeachment proceedings.

“My humble submission about this issue is dapat personal na nasasaksihan ng senator-judge ang trial at dapat personal din siyang boboto dahil napakahalaga ng prosesong ito,” Luistro, head of the House prosecution panel in the upcoming Senate trial, said in a recent radio interview.

(My humble submission about this issue is that the senator-judge must personally witness the trial and must also personally cast his vote because this process is very important.)

“With all due respect kay Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, we respect him and he is a former colleague in the House of Representatives. However, we need to consider the significance, the importance, the paramount of this impeachment process,” Luistro said.

For one thing, the Batangueña said the senator-judges must personally observe witnesses, documents, and video evidence presented before the impeachment court.

“The demeanor [of a witness] tells you whether the witness is telling the truth or not,” said the lawyer-solon.

She also warned against allowing impeachment decisions to be made solely through remote participation.

Echoing Luistro's statement was Barbers, the overall chairman of the vaunted House quad-committee (quad-comm) during the previous 19th Congress.

Barbers says the online participation/ voting proposal "betrays the intention of some members to accomodate other members who may not be able to physically attend sessions, not due to medical reasons but in andticipation of their absence in relation to the cases that they may be facing or about to face".

This was in clear reference to Dela Rosa's predicament. The allegations against the particular senator were tackled through the marathon, public quad-comm hearings in 2024 to 2025.

“Obviously, some Senators want to protect the others and use the latter’s predictable inclinations in furtherance of their agenda, without regard to the still to be presented solid evidence. The proponents are banking on the present majority composition which is aligned with the members who is/are subject/s of the proposal,” Barbers added.

The ex-congressman has reminded the Senate that the impeachment trial is a higher function of the Senate sitting as an impeachment court and that the importance of an impeachment trial is for the senator-judges to see and hear in person all evidence and witnesses to be presented.

He said this will enable them to properly appreciate the presentations of the prosecution and the defense.

“Actual and active physical participation in the trial is the kind of respect due the Impeachment Court. If the Senator-Judge respects the processes and the sanctity of the trial, he must take it upon himself to attend physically. He owes it to the people to discharge his duty and responsibility in the best manner. The only exception should be for medical reasons,” Barbers added.