Senate President Win Gatchalian confirmed Sunday that no amount of procedural wrangling between the prosecution and Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense could delay the start of the impeachment trial scheduled for 6 July. 

Gatchalian admitted they are racing against a “tight” schedule, though he was optimistic that they can conclude all preliminaries today, Monday, so that the pre-trial order will be issued to the parties shortly after. 

Before the trial proper had even begun, the opposing camps already sparred over the sealed Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) box containing the income tax returns of Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.

During the five-day pre-trial conference last week, House prosecutors insisted on opening the box to pre-mark its contents, which they could use as evidence to strengthen allegations of unexplained wealth and discrepancies in the VP’s SALNs under Article II.

However, the move met strong objections from the lawyers of Duterte, citing confidentiality and rights to due process.  Even marking just the box itself was also opposed by the defense.

They argued that it is still premature to open it at the preliminary stage of the proceedings and that it could infringe on Maneses’ privacy, given that he is a private citizen. 

Subsequently, the defense reportedly agreed to accept the opening of the sealed box, but “in principle.”

As a result, the verdict on whether or not to open the box during the trial now rests with the Senate impeachment court.

“I know that's the only remaining unmarked [evidence]. [The defense] already submitted a memo to the impeachment court to study. The impeachment court will decide now if it will be opened and when it will be opened,” Gatchalian said in a radio interview.

To recall, the sealed box was submitted by the BIR to the House Committee on Justice during the impeachment hearings earlier this year. However, the panel did not open it to prevent legal complications because, although a BIR commissioner can disclose pertinent tax and audit information to Congress, it must be strictly done in an inquiry in aid of legislation.

Since an impeachment proceeding is not explicitly in aid of legislation, House lawmakers leave it to the Senate impeachment court to open it once the trial commences. 

It’s all systems go for the upcoming impeachment trial, according to Gatchalian. The Senate will conduct a security dry run this week. By Tuesday, a physical setup will be in place to assess entry flow in preparation for the expected high number of participants in the trial.

Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr., clerk of court, announced that the trial will be open to the public, though online pre-registration will be strictly enforced. 

Several seats in the Senate plenary hall will be designated for public seating. 

Bantug said that the 370 seating capacity will be squarely divided among the prosecution, defense, and the public, with one-third each.

The impeachment trial will run from Monday to Wednesday at 2 p.m. Although this schedule will be in effect before the President’s SONA on 27 July, it will be changed to Tuesday to Thursday at the same time afterward.

Bantug stated that this could become the longest impeachment trial on record, as it may last up to seven months.

Bantug earlier said that the presentation of evidence may take 92 trial days, though both the prosecution and the defense agreed that it’s highly unlikely the trial will conclude in three months, or until September, as initially projected. 

House prosecutors requested 62 trial dates to present their witnesses, while the defense sought only half that, 30 days. 

House prosecutors initially requested 62 trial dates to present their witnesses, while the defense sought only half that, or 30 days. 

However, this could be compressed if multiple witnesses will be presented each day.

The prosecution and the defense share several witnesses, namely, Ombudsman Boying Remulla, former senator Sonny Trillanes, and Duterte’s alleged ex-aide and bagman, Ramil Madriaga, among others.