House lead prosecutor Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro has expressed concern over the alleged security threats to the Senate, the site of the upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Luistro aired her "personal thoughts" on the matter during a press conference of the prosecution panel Thursday, June 11. That same morning, the Senate website was reportedly hacked and defaced.

Just a few days ago, the Senate leadership under Acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian ordered a temporary work-from-home arrangement for employees after a security threat was received.

Asked if she thought these developments in the upper chamber were connected to the looming impeachment trial, Luistro said it was "hard to speculate".

“What is clear, we have a schedule already for our first pre-trial conference on June 18, and that will be this coming Thursday,” she said.

The lawyer-congresswoman reckoned that authorities should act swiftly to address any potential risks.

“So I wish to express my concern about the security and safety of those who will be joining the filing of pre-trial brief on Monday, and those who will be joining the conduct of the pre-trial conference on Thursday, as well as all the senators, even the defense team, and the officials and employees of the Senate, who are staying in the premises," she noted.

She said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Deparrment of Justice (DOJ), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) must spring into action.

“And let me take advantage of this opportunity upang manawagan sa ating (to call on our) law enforcement agencies. That includes, of course, the investigative bodies like the NBI, the DOJ, the PNP,” she noted.

“Let us look into this and make sure na ligtas, safe and secured, ang premises ng Senate (Let us look into this and make sure that the Senate’s premises is safe and securred),” Luistro said.

She said the matter becomes more urgent if the threat was indeed tied to the impeachment process.

“If this is connected to the impeachment trial, then we have more reason to make sure that this will be addressed, because this is a very significant process. This is a constitutional process that concerns the interests of every Filipino across the world,” she added.

“Whether connected or not, sana ay tutukan po ito ng ating mga katuwang sa paglilingkod mula sa law enforcement agencies (hopefully our fellow public servants from law enforcement agencies would address this),” Luistro said.

She said House leadership has already started communications on security for prosecutors after reports from the NBI and the hacking of the Senate website.

She also expressed the prosecution's worries about the safety of witnesses and evidence to be presented during the trial.

At any rate, Luistro said there were "ongoing communications already in order to address that".