A YouTube video claims that Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro and the House of Representatives have backed out from prosecuting the upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. This is false.
Luistro has not pulled out from serving as prosecutor for the trial, nor have the 10 other representatives selected alongside her. The House also did not withdraw the seven articles of impeachment it transmitted to the Senate on Feb. 5.
Uploaded on Feb. 23, the false video’s headline read:
“KAKAPASOK LANG Luistr0 Kamara Umatr4s sa Mpeachm3nt ni VpSara? DeLuby0 kay Juni0r L/sa Tamba b0king (Just in. Luistro and the House pulled out of VP Sara’s impeachment? Disaster for Junior. Lisa Tamba exposed).”
In a March 10 interview, Luistro said House prosecutors have already been assigned to focus on particular impeachment articles against Duterte.
Luistro said she will take charge of the second, fourth and fifth articles, which covers the vice president’s alleged misuse of confidential funds, graft and corruption and involvement in extrajudicial killings.
The false YouTube video emerged five days after Duterte filed a petition at the Supreme Court to block the impeachment complaint against her. It continues to circulate online this March.
Uploaded by previously fact-checked YouTube channel PHILIPPINES TRENDING NEWS, the erroneous video received 109,376 interactions. Facebook users reposted the link.
