High courtroom drama in Filipino, anyone?

This could very well happen, as the House prosecution panel in Vice President Sara Duterte impeachment case is pushing for the use of Filipino during court proceedings and the translation of trial developments into major regional languages.

Lead prosecutor Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro said the prosecution team plans to bring up during the June 18 pre-trial conference the possibility of allowing the use of Filipino whenever practical during the proceedings.

“I wish to formalize as well on this upcoming pre-trial conference, the possibility of us, the prosecutors, and even the defense, to use Filipino language when the same is possible,” Luistro said during a press briefing on Monday, June 15.

She acknowledged that while some legal concepts and technical terms may be difficult to translate, the prosecution sees the importance of making the proceedings more understandable to the public.

“It is our intention na lahat ng mangyayari (It is our intention that everything that will happen) during the impeachment trial should be understandable on the part of the ordinary Filipinos,” Luistro said.

Apart from the proposed use of Filipino during the Senate impeachment trial, Luistro said the prosecution is also exploring ways to provide translations of trial developments in major regional languages so that more Filipinos can follow the case regardless of where they live.

Doing so will "make sure that the entire Philippine nation is on the same page", she said.

Luistro has underscored that impeachment is a constitutional process involving matters of public accountability and should not be understood only by lawyers, politicians and government officials.

“After all, this is a constitutional process. We want the entire nation to walk with us as we start, continue, and conclude the impeachment trial."

The Batangueña--who shot to prominence in the House of Representatives thanks to her impressive interpellations during the quad-committee (quad-comm) hearings in the previous 19th Congress--also appealed to mainstream and social media platforms to help ensure the accurate dissemination of information throughout the proceedings.

Luistro--in her capacity as Committee on Justice chairperson--has gone through painstaking lengths to make sure the public understands this year's impeachment proceedings by giving summaries during the beginning of every panel hearing.

The Senate impeachment trial against the twice-impeached Duterte will begin on July 6.

Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, spokesperson of the prosecution panel, supported Luistro's pitch.

According to Adiong, the objective is not merely to translate the proceedings but also to help citizens better understand the issues, evidence and arguments that will be presented before the impeachment court.

“Ang intensyon po talaga natin dito is mabigyan ng serbisyo ang ating mga kababayan na maintindihan nila ang pinag-uusapan sa impeachment trial (Our real intention here is to provide service to our people so they can understand what is being discussed in the impeachment trial),” he said.

“Matagal na po ito pinag-usapan at deserve po [ng taumbayan] malaman ang katotohanan (This has long been talked about and the people deserve to know the truth),” Adiong noted.