Impeachment Court to Tackle VP Duterte's Alleged Unexplained Wealth on Sept. 14

The Senate impeachment court is set to tackle Article II of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, concerning her alleged amassing of unexplained wealth, on Monday, September 14. This development comes after the House prosecution unexpectedly withdrew its 15 final witnesses for Article I, which pertains to the alleged misuse of confidential funds by the Vice President. Consequently, the prosecution’s period to present exhibits for Article I has concluded. The defense panel requested that Article II be tackled after two weeks to allow for preparation, particularly in examining the exhibits the prosecution plans to present, given the sudden shift in proceedings. To avoid accusations of delaying the proceedings, defense counsel Michael Poa proposed deducting the 14 days from the defense’s presentation period. However, Presiding Officer Senator-judge Francis Escudero explained that the schedule must also consider the Senate’s other legislative responsibilities, especially those with tight deadlines, such as the deliberations for the 2027 national budget. “The presiding officer will be lenient with respect to when the counsel for the respondent will cross-examine the witness to be presented, and will simply allow the panel for prosecutors to present the following witness and conduct the direct without the respondent conducting their cross examination as of yet on the first witness they will present, then we’ll take it from there,” Escudero stated. This arrangement suggests that the prosecution may proceed with direct examinations of its witnesses while the defense panel prepares for its cross-examination. The defense will be granted the period to conduct their cross-examination once they are ready. Prior to Monday, the prosecution was directed to provide a list of its first witnesses for Article II, and both parties were ordered to mark the documents for the same charge.