MANILA — A member of the House prosecution panel said that voting in the impeachment court for the case of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte should be based only on senator-judges who actually take part in the proceedings.

Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua said it would be unfair to allow non-participating senators to cast votes in the impeachment trial, which is set to begin on July 6.

“Paano magiging fair ‘yon on the part of defense at sa amin kung buong trial ay hindi siya nakapag-participate, wala siya doon tapos hihingin ang boto niya. Paano nagkaroon ng fair justice doon (How can it be fair on the part of the defense and us if he didn’t participate in the entire trial. Where is fair justice there)?” Chua said during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

Chua, who chairs the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, said an absent senator-judge should not be allowed to render a decision, comparing the situation to a judge issuing a ruling without attending the trial.

“So parang isang huwes, paano siya magre-render ng kanyang verdict, whether guilty or not, kung hindi naman niya nakita ‘yung mga sinabi ng mga testigo (So like a judge, how can he render a verdict, whether guilty or not, if he hasn’t seen what the witnesses said),” he said.

He added that impeachment proceedings are similar to court hearings, where judges are expected to observe witnesses firsthand to assess credibility.

“Dito sa impeachment, ito ay parang akin to court hearing, kung saan ang huwes ay tinitingnan ‘yong demeanor ng testigo kung ito ay nagsasabi ng totoo, kung ito ay nagsisinungaling (In the impeachment, it’s akin to a court hearing, where the judge looks at the demeanor of the witness if he’s telling the truth, if he’s lying),” he said.

Chua said part of judgment involves evaluating witness behavior and testimony in person.

“Parte ng kanilang pag-rerender ng judgment ay base sa mannerism, sa conduct na inuupo sa (Part of the process of rendering judgment is to assess mannerism and the conduct of those sitting on the) witness stand,” he added.

He also said impeachment proceedings differ from regular legislative processes and noted that unresolved questions may eventually be brought before the Supreme Court.

Chua raised the possibility that quorum rules used in the Senate’s July 3 session under the new majority bloc led by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian could also be applied in the impeachment court, although he said this remains to be determined.

“Pero tingnan natin kung puwedeng i-apply ‘yung quorum. Kasi kung ‘yon ang magiging desisyon nila, tutal may decided cases na dito, sa tingin ko wala rin namang masama na ito ang i-apply (But let’s see if the quorum can be applied. If that’s their decision, since there are already decided cases here, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with applying it),” he said.

Chua said the issue has not been extensively discussed by the House prosecution team, which is currently focused on preparations for the June 18 pre-trial conference.

He also noted that Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa has not been seen since leaving the Senate on May 14, while Sen. Jinggoy Estrada is detained over a plunder case, leaving 22 senators able to physically participate in the impeachment proceedings.