VP Duterte impeachment trial: Waiving an article possible to speed up proceedings, solon says

MANILA, Philippines — Waiving the presentation and discussion of an article in the Articles of Impeachment is a possibility to quicken the pace of Vice President Sara Duterte’s trial, should the prosecution see that its case is already solid, Manila Rep. Joel Chua said during a press briefing on Thursday. Chua initially mentioned that the 17-month period for the impeachment trial has not been set in stone. He said that different factors — like the waiving of an article — can still reduce the months needed for the proceedings. When asked to clarify this, Chua said that they can consider this matter if the case is strong and the evidence is “overflowing.” “Well, we will see what will happen in the next articles,” he said. “So if we think — like I what I mentioned earlier – after 1, 2, 3, – we really think that we have a strong, overflowing evidence, and we think it will be of help to the impeachment court that we can shorten the hearing, then we can consider it,” he noted. “But as of now, of course, we are in the process of presenting all of these. So what I am saying are mere possibilities,” he said. Chua said the prosecution is checking other ways to increase the pace of the trial, like withdrawing witnesses, which it has done, since the senator-judges have asked questions that provided a better understanding of the case. Lawyer Lorna Kapunan, counsel for the prosecution team, reminded the public that during the impeachment trial for former Chief Justice Renato Corona, the public prosecutors presented several articles, but ultimately withdrew them, presenting only two articles. These articles were the unexplained wealth and failure to declare his wealth on his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN). “During the time of Corona, they presented a lot of articles. They have a lot of grounds, but they just reduced it to unexplained (wealth) and non-declaration of wealth (in the SALN),” Kapunan recalled. “So it is a determination to be made collectively,” she concluded. READ: Senate votes 20-3 to convict Corona However, Kapunan clarified that the decision on whether or not the prosecution should waive an article will depend on the public prosecutors. “We are the counsel for the (prosecution) under direct control and supervision of the House panel of prosecutors,” she said. “Although we are counsels, the decision will really lie with the public prosecutors, because we act under the control and supervision,” she explained. “And it’s a matter of strategy. It’s a matter of strategy,” Kapunan repeated. “It does not mean that if we minimize the number of witnesses to be presented, if we subtract testimonies, it will weaken the case.” There have been six trial days since the Senate Impeachment Court started hearing the prosecution and the defense’s arguments. Out of the six days, one day was dedicated to administrative matters; one day for oral arguments; and four days to examine two prosecution witnesses from the National Bureau of Investigation. The slow pace has led observers to worry that the trial may take long, around 17 months or almost one and a half year. However, the prosecution announced on Wednesday that it is pulling out six witnesses for Article IV, as the case is supposedly already strong, and any additional testimony will be redundant. READ: Prosec won’t call sheriff, reporters as witnesses in impeach trial anymore The same reason was cited by Kapunan when she manifested before the court on Tuesday that the prosecution will also no longer present Office of the Vice President (OVP) Chief of Staff Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez and Capt. Belinda Bello of the House Legislative Security Bureau. This means that only three witnesses remain for Article IV — National Bureau of Investigation officials Senior Agent John Mark Calilung and Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc, who have been already examined, and NBI Director Melvin Matibag who will be presented on Tuesday, July 21. READ: Prosecution won’t present Lopez anymore: Testimony is redundant The two complaints against Duterte were consolidated by the House committee on justice into four articles: Information Source: Inquirer NewsInfo