Sara Duterte impeachment trial: Prosecution proposes alternating evidence presentation

The prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has proposed an unconventional approach to the court: alternating evidence presentation with the defense team. This approach, the prosecution argued in its electronically filed manifestation on Monday, July 27, would enable the impeachment court and parties to "focus on one article of impeachment at a time, thereby promoting a more organized and coherent presentation of evidence and facilitating a clearer appreciation of the factual and legal issues unique to each charge." Under the trial’s current format, the prosecution is expected to finish presenting all four impeachment articles before the defense team can introduce its own evidence and witnesses. The prosecution has already completed its presentation for the impeachment article concerning Duterte's threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and was scheduled to begin its case on the Vice President's alleged misuse of confidential funds on Wednesday, July 29. However, if the court grants the prosecution's manifestation, the defense could present its witnesses and evidence on grave threats before the court proceeds to the confidential funds case. The prosecution stated that its proposed sequence "allows [Duterte] an immediate opportunity to address the evidence presented on a particular article before the proceedings move to the next, while enabling the impeachment court to receive and evaluate all evidence relating to each charge in a more comprehensive and self-contained manner." "In the prosecution’s respectful view, this format may contribute to a more orderly, efficient, and focused trial without prejudice to the impeachment court’s continuing authority to modify its procedures whenever the interests of justice or the efficient conduct of the proceedings so require," it added. While the court instructed the prosecution to finish its presentation of all articles before the defense in the 2012 impeachment trial of former chief justice Renato Corona, the prosecution in Duterte’s trial argued that no fixed rule governs the sequence of evidence presentation in an impeachment trial. The prosecution clarified that despite its preference, it will abide by whatever decision the court makes. – Rappler.com