House prosecutors say disagreements normal in Duterte impeachment pretrial

Members of the House prosecution panel and Vice President Sara Duterte's legal team on Thursday downplayed reports of tension during the first pretrial conference of the impeachment case, saying disagreements are a normal part of legal proceedings.

The issue arose after claims surfaced that heated exchanges took place between the prosecution and defense during the initial pretrial conference, the first formal encounter between both camps.

Defense lawyer Michael Poa denied that tensions flared, saying the parties merely had differing positions that were eventually resolved.

“There were no tensions. Of course, it is normal during a trial, especially in the pretrial stage. That's normal. There are disagreements. But even then, I think it was good because we, both parties, were able to settle differences,” Poa said during an ambush interview.

House prosecution spokespersons Zia Alonto Adiong and Renee Co shared the same view, saying the exchanges simply reflected the adversarial nature of the proceedings and signaled that the impeachment process was moving forward.

Co explained that disagreements often arise because each side advances its own position on proposed stipulations and other matters raised during pretrial.

“Of course if they are facing the clerk of court that would ask them which stipulations they would adopt, they will each present their own version of the argument, not the others,” she said.

Adiong likewise stressed that conflicting positions are expected since both parties fundamentally disagree on key issues that will be litigated during the trial.

“They are adversarial, they have conflicting stands and presentations to the court. So that's just the default character of how regular court proceedings happen,” the Lanao del Sur lawmaker said.

He added that what matters most is that the constitutional accountability process is proceeding and that the evidence will eventually be presented before the impeachment court.

The Senate has scheduled the start of Duterte's impeachment trial on 6 July, with no final timeline yet set for the duration of the proceedings.

The Vice President faces four Articles of Impeachment alleging unexplained wealth, misuse of confidential funds, bribery and verbal threats against high-ranking government officials.