TWO THOMASIANS retained their spots in the 11-person prosecution team for the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Representatives Joel Chua and Lorenz Defensor were initially among those chosen as prosecutors in the impeachment trial of Duterte in February 2025, but no trial materialized after the Supreme Court nullified the proceedings.
READ: Three Thomasians among prosecutors in Duterte’s impeachment trial | The Varsitarian
Added to the list was Rep. Ramon Rodrigo “Rodge” Gutierrez, a graduate of UST Legazpi, who was among the names listed by House Justice Committee chairperson Rep. Gerville Luistro on May 12.
This selection came after the House’s decisive 257-25 vote to impeach the vice president on Monday.
In accordance with the House Rules on impeachment, the chamber is required to select its delegates to manage the investigation as it proceeds to the Senate for a trial.
The House’s vote came more than a year after the Supreme Court nullified the attempt to impeach Duterte in February 2025, due to violations of the one-year bar rule, which prevents more than one impeachment process for an impeachable official.
Duterte’s impeachment will also be the first time an incumbent vice president will be tried.
Joel Chua
Chua graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from the College of Commerce and Accountancy (now Alfredo Velayo College of Accountancy).
He was elected as Manila’s third district representative in 2022. He is the secretary general of the local party Asenso Manileño.
Chua chairs the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which led inquiries into the alleged mismanagement of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) by Duterte within the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education
The issue of Duterte’s management of the confidential funds was one of the four articles or grounds of her impeachment.
READ: VP Duterte impeached anew by House, set to face Senate trial | The Varsitarian
Chua, who has held the position since 2022, won against Aksyon Demokratiko bet Honey Nieto-Rodriguez, the sister of former Manila vice mayor Yul Servo.
Lorenz Defensor
Defensor was elected as Iloilo’s third district representative under the PDP-Laban (Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipinas-Laban ng Bayan) party in 2019. He switched to the National Unity Party in 2021.
His father, Arthur Defensor Sr., was the governor of Iloilo from 2010 until 2019, having represented the third district in Congress from 2001 until 2010. His brother, Arthur Defensor Jr., holds office as the governor of Iloilo.
Defensor graduated from the Faculty of Civil Law in 2004 and worked as a managing partner of the Salazar Enrile Defensor & De Mata Law Firm, which specializes in energy law and project financing.
He serves as senior deputy majority leader and vice-chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments.
Ramon Rodrigo “Rodge” Gutierrez
A representative under the 1-Rider party-list group, Gutierrez attained his secondary education at UST Legazpi.
He later obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo de Manila University and passed the Philippine Bar Examination in 2019.
Gutierrez was elected to Congress in 2022.
He was reelected in the 2025 mid-term election as the first representative of the 1-Rider party-list, which represents the interests of motorcycle riders, including pushing for reforms in traffic policy and road safety.
Rep. Jill Bongalon, another Thomasian who was supposed to serve as prosecutor in 2025, lost to Rep. Kristel Lagman in the first district of Albay during the 2025 midterm elections.
Joining Chua and Defensor in the 11-person prosecution team are the following:
- Rep. Leila de Lima (Mamamayang Liberal Partylist)
- Rep. Chel Diokno (Akbayan Partylist)
- Rep. Keith Flores (Second District of Bukidnon)
- Rep. Jinky Luistro (Second District of Batangas)
- Rep. Terry Ridon (Bicol Saro Partylist)
- Rep. Lordan Suan (First District of Cagayan de Oro)
- Rep. Ysabel Zamora (Lone District of San Juan)
- Rep. Kaka Bag-ao (Lone District of Dinagat Islands)
Senators will sit in the trial as judges, with the Senate president acting as presiding officer.
A two-thirds vote, or at least 16 out of 24 senators, is necessary for Duterte’s conviction and subsequent removal from power. However, only nine votes can overturn the impeachment and acquit the vice president.
The Senate has yet to convene as an impeachment court following the transmittal of the grounds of impeachment from the House and a recent leadership shake-up that seated Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano in place of Sen. Vicente Sotto III as Senate president.
READ: Senate upheaval marks Dela Rosa’s return; Cayetano elected Senate president | The Varsitarian
