The House prosecution panel is seeking to make the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte more accessible to ordinary Filipinos by proposing the use of Filipino during proceedings and translating key developments into major regional languages.
During a press briefing on Monday, lead prosecutor and House Committee on Justice chairperson Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro said the prosecution plans to formally raise the proposal during the Senate impeachment court’s pretrial conference on June 18.
Luistro said prosecutors and even the defense may be allowed to use Filipino whenever practical, although some legal concepts and technical terms may be difficult to translate.
She said the goal is to ensure that ordinary Filipinos can better understand the proceedings, stressing that impeachment is a constitutional process involving public accountability.
The prosecution panel is also exploring ways to provide translations of trial developments into major regional languages to allow more Filipinos across the country to follow the case.
House impeachment spokesperson and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said discussions are ongoing with the communications team on how to present information in a manner that is easier for the public to understand.
He said the objective is to help citizens better appreciate the issues, evidence and arguments that will be presented before the impeachment court, adding that Filipinos deserve to know the truth amid the intense public interest surrounding the case.
The Senate impeachment court is scheduled to hold its pretrial conference on June 18, while the trial proper is set to begin on July 6.
