Metro Manila, Philippines – The House prosecution panel on Tuesday, June 23, asked the Impeachment Court to extend the pre-trial conference on the case of Vice President Sara Duterte until Saturday, June 27 due to the volume of evidence that needs to be marked.
In a press briefing, prosecution lead Jinky Luistro admitted uncertainties from the prosecution that the June 25 deadline for the marking of evidence may not be feasible.
“We are pushing for the termination of the pre-trial conference this week. And that is why we have reached out to Secretary Bantug for two possible additional measures,” Luistro said, referring to the Senate Secretary who sits as clerk of court.
She noted that the prosecution also asked the court to allow more teams to participate in the marking of evidence to hasten the process.
Manila Rep. Joel Chua, another prosecutor, said Article I alone, which pertains to Duterte’s alleged confidential fund misuse, has 4,000 documents.
Luisto also pointed out that the defense preferred to have separate markings on their common documentary exhibits.
“Na-double yung time. If they will agree na isang document lang, isang examination lang, isang pirmahan lang. That will be, as to the time which will be spent, it will be diminished by half the time being spent when marking common exhibits but separate documents,” she said.
[Translation: The time is doubled. If they agree to use only one document, conduct only one examination, and have only one signing, then the time that will be spent will be reduced by half compared to the time spent when marking common exhibits using separate documents.]
In an interview, Michael Poa, defense lawyer and spokesperson, said it is not an option for the defense to have single marking for common evidence.
“Our example, nagkaroon ng discrepancy ang document namin sa document nila kahit na iisa lang yung sa itsura, iisa lang ang dokumento pero nagkulang ng isang page. We’re not faulting the prosecution, pero iyon ang reality. Kaya kami we prefer we mark our own evidence,” he told reporters.
[Translation: For example, we encountered a discrepancy between our copy of the document and theirs. Although it appeared to be the same document, one page was missing. We are not faulting the prosecution; that is simply the reality. That is why we prefer to mark our own evidence.]
Poa said the defense is committed to meet the June 25 deadline, vowing no delays on their side.
Duterte’s camp also rejected the prosecution’s statement that they need more personnel to speed up the process, criticizing the House prosecutors for not being involved in the marking of evidence.
“It was actually private prosecutors who lacked personnel sa marking ng exhibits. Siguro hindi lang naintindihan masyado ni Rep. Luistro ito kasi hindi naman sila nagpa-participate buong araw. They just appear in the morning and they leave,” Mark Vinluan, defense lawyer said.
[Translation: It was actually the private prosecutors who lacked personnel for the marking of exhibits. Perhaps Rep. Luistro did not fully understand this because they did not participate throughout the entire day. They simply appear in the morning and then leave.]
Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon, another House prosecutor, opposed the statement, saying concerns on the marking of evidence are merely due to volume of evidence.
The pre-trial will enter its fourth day on Wednesday, June 24. Poa said the court would provide another station for the marking of evidence for Article II, which is focused on allegations of unexplained wealth.
The evidence for Articles III and IV, which tackles issues on the alleged bribery and grave threats, respectively, have already been marked.
