Prosecutors push pre-trial extension

Lawmakers from the House prosecution panel said they have coordinated with Senate Secretary General and impeachment court clerk Renato Bantug to seek an extension of the pre-trial conference for the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte until Saturday as concerns grow over delays in completing the marking of evidence.

Speaking at a press conference in the House of Representatives, House lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro said some members of the prosecution team were uncertain whether the process could be completed by the original target date of Thursday, 25 June, given the sheer volume of documents involved.

“We already reached out to Secretary Bantug through Secretary General Cheloy Garafil to see if there are other measures that may be considered to further expedite the process of marking exhibits,” Luistro said.

Among the requests raised by the prosecution was allowing additional teams to assist in handling the extensive documentary evidence, particularly those related to the confidential funds issue.

Luistro said exhibits connected to the Department of Education and the Office of the Vice President already total more than 4,000 documents, with three of the four authorized teams currently focused on processing those records.

The prosecution also said the process has taken longer because the Vice President’s defense team requested that their own evidence — including documents similar to those submitted by prosecutors — be marked separately. Lawmakers declined to comment on whether they believe the move was intended to delay proceedings.

Despite the setbacks, Manila Rep. Joel Chua said the prosecution remains confident the 6 July trial date will proceed as scheduled.

“Yes, we remain confident, and we are hoping there would be no further delays in the marking of evidence,” Chua said.