House Deputy Leader Advocates Winner Takes All Mindset
House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo 3rd District Representative Lorenz Defensor has expressed his preference for a “winner takes all” approach in the upcoming Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. Defensor, one of the 11 solon-prosecutors in the trial, emphasized that the process should avoid turning into a “bloodbath” and instead focus on clear presentation of evidence.
“Maganda sigurong sabihin natin na ‘winner takes it all’ ang impeachment trial na ito. Hindi kailangan maging bloodbath. Gusto natin malinaw lang ang pagkakalatag ng ebidensya ng prosecution at ng defense teams,” Defensor stated. (It might be good to say that this impeachment trial is a ‘winner takes it all’ scenario. There’s no need for a bloodbath. We just want the evidence presented by the prosecution and defense teams to be clear.)
Vice President Duterte’s Stance and Prosecution’s Confidence
Earlier, Vice President Duterte instructed her legal team to prepare thoroughly, expressing her desire for a “bloodbath” during the trial. However, Defensor maintains that their team is confident in the strength of their case and hopes the trial will be decisive.
When asked about Duterte’s claim that the prosecution lacks solid evidence, Defensor responded, “Confident kami, kaya sinasabi ko na instead of a bloodbath, gusto namin winner takes all (that’s why I’m saying instead of a bloodbath, let’s make it winner takes all).”
Impeachment Trial Procedures and Supreme Court Petition
Defensor also explained that impeachment trials do not adhere to the strict evidentiary rules typical of criminal or civil cases. Rather, the senator-judges are expected to rely on their conscience and judgment when evaluating the evidence presented.
Regarding the petition filed by Duterte’s camp before the Supreme Court seeking to halt the trial, Defensor expressed hope that the high tribunal will respect the separation of powers unless there is a clear abuse of discretion by Congress.
“Abangan natin kung sa palagay ng [SC] ay may grave abuse of discretion… pero I am confident na ang ating Korte Suprema will respect the separation of powers (Let’s wait and see if the SC believes there has been grave abuse of discretion… but I am confident that our SC will respect the separation of powers),” he said.
Defensor concluded by urging all parties to embrace the “winner takes all” mindset to make the trial’s outcome easier to accept.
“Winner takes all tayo sa impeachment trial na ito para mas madaling tanggapin ang magiging resulta (Let’s make the impeachment a winner-take-all affair so that the result can be easier to accept),” he emphasized.
For more news and updates on Vice President Duterte impeachment trial, visit Filipinokami.com.