House prosecutors will seek clarification from the Senate on whether the pre-trial conference for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will be closed to the public and the media.
The move comes after the Senate, through a notice signed by Senator Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian, scheduled the pre-trial conference for 18 June at 9 a.m. and specified that the proceedings would not be open to the media or the public.
"To allow the parties and/or their counsel the widest freedom and latitude towards attaining the objectives of the pre-trial, the Pre-Trial Conference proceedings shall not be open to the media or public," the notice stated.
Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro, a member of the House prosecution panel, said the arrangement is generally consistent with ordinary court proceedings, where pre-trial conferences are attended only by the parties involved.
"We have to understand also that the pre-trial conference is really time-consuming because it will entail the pieces of evidence and their marking which will be used or presented during the trial of this case," Luistro said during an online interview.
She explained that discussions during the pre-trial, including agreements between the prosecution and defense, are eventually reflected in the pre-trial order and presented during the trial proper.
If the Senate impeachment court decides to adopt the closed-door arrangement, Luistro said the House prosecution panel would respect its jurisdiction over the proceedings.
However, she said the House would send a letter to the Senate to formally confirm whether the pre-trial conference would indeed be conducted without media and public access.
"I wish to confirm na in ordinary court proceeding, parties din lang ang present. Reason is, before the issuance of a pre-trial order, ima-manifest din ng prosecution at ng defense lahat ng naging agreement nila during the pre-trial conference," Luistro said.
The Senate has set the pre-trial conference for 18 June as part of the impeachment proceedings against Duterte, with both the prosecution and defense required to submit their respective pre-trial briefs before the scheduled hearing.
