FIVE MORE private lawyers are joining the House prosecution panel, bringing to 26 the total number of litigators in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Among the new lawyers forming part of the House prosecution panel are Theodore Te, Reynaldo Robles, Arnold Labay, Mae Divinagracia and Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr.
The House persecution panel likewise announced the entry of former Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers as adviser. He is also joining the communicators team along with Reps. Zia Alonto Adiong (Surigao del Sur) and Renee Co (Kabataan partylist).
“It is our privilege to formally introduce the newest members of the private prosecution panel, as well as the panel’s additional spokesperson and impeachment adviser,” said Mamamayang Liberal partylist Rep. Leila De Lima.
“We welcome these seasoned lawyers because their experience will help the prosecution present its case clearly, responsibly and with the seriousness that the Filipino people deserve.”
Te, who served as chief public information officer of the Supreme Court from 2013 to 2018, brings with him a rare combination of courtroom, human rights, legal education and public communication experience.
He is the interim chairperson of the Free Legal Assistance Group, the oldest network of human rights lawyers in the Philippines, and a full-time faculty member of the University of the Philippines College of Law with the rank of assistant professor.
Te has litigated cases at all levels of the court system and presented oral arguments before the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court on major constitutional issues, including the death penalty and the Anti-Terrorism Law of 2020.
He has also represented journalists in libel and cyberlibel cases, trained journalists and advocates on legal defense against defamation suits and red-tagging, served as a resource person on freedom of expression and civil and political rights and headed the UP College of Law Clinical Legal Education Program.
Robles is the founding and managing partner of Chan Robles & Associates and a practicing lawyer whose work spans criminal and civil litigation, corporate law, election law, labor and employment law, taxation and tax administration, reclamation and public-private partnership.
He has also served as legal and legislative consultant to several public officials and institutions, including as chief of staff and chief legislative consultant in the Senate, where his work involved civil service, government reorganization, national defense and security legislation.
Labay is a CPA-lawyer and senior partner at Chan Robles & Associates, with decades of experience in litigation, law practice, teaching and legal writing.
He served as managing partner and litigation lawyer at LAMP or Labay Madamba Piccio Law Offices, from 1997 to January 2023. He also taught law at New Era University, handling Remedial Law Review, Evidence and Civil Law and authored a book on Persons and Family Relations.
Divinagracia is the managing partner of Co Nazario Velasco-Catera and Divinagracia Law Offices, and has experience in commercial, civil and criminal litigation, arbitration, product liability, corporate rehabilitation, intra-corporate controversies, labor and family law.
She previously worked in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department of ACCRALAW and has taught at the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law, Ateneo de Naga College of Law and Polytechnic University of the Philippines College of Law.
Divinagracia earned her Juris Doctor from Ateneo de Manila University School of Law and was recognized in international moot court competitions, including the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition and the Asia Cup in Tokyo.
The four new private prosecutors will join the existing private prosecution team assisting the House panel as the Senate impeachment court prepares for the trial proper against Duterte.
Tolosa, already serving as the prosecution’s legal spokesperson, will now also be formally introduced as a private prosecutor.
He is the founding and managing partner of Tolosa Lim & Chua Law Firm, where he heads the firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice and leads lawyers handling complex civil, criminal, administrative and regulatory disputes.
Tolosa has more than 17 years of litigation experience before trial courts, appellate courts, administrative agencies and quasi-judicial bodies, with practice areas covering financial crimes, intra-corporate controversies, antitrust, constitutional law, torts, heinous crimes and contractual disputes.
Earlier, the prosecution panel named the following lawyers as members of its private prosecution team: Lorna Kapunan, Marforth Fua, James Alih, Erwin Matib, Justine Lamarca, Sonya Benemerito-Castillo, Deanna Lorenzo-Singian, Bettina Zamora and Amando Ligutan Saligal.
The prosecution panel said the additions are meant to strengthen the presentation of evidence, sharpen trial preparation and help the public better understand the constitutional process now before the Senate impeachment court.
