Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team has forced the impeachment trial back to its original track after rejecting a proposal to present evidence article by article, prompting prosecutors to proceed with the first charge involving alleged misuse of P612 million in confidential funds.

In a response filed before the Senate sitting as an impeachment court on 28 July, Duterte’s lawyers opposed a proposal that would allow both the prosecution and defense to present evidence on each impeachment article before proceeding to the next charge.

The defense said the proposed arrangement would undermine “fair play and due process,” depart from the trial procedures agreed upon during pre-trial proceedings, and effectively shift the burden of proving the allegations from the prosecution to the respondent.

“Requiring the respondent to present evidence per Article before the Prosecution has fully presented its case-in-chief for all Articles undermines Duterte’s right to know the accusations against her and the evidence supporting them,” the defense said in its filing.

The proposal was raised by impeachment court Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero on 21 July, when he asked both sides whether they would agree to modify the current sequence of proceedings.

Under the existing trial flow, the House prosecution panel is expected to complete the presentation of evidence for all impeachment articles before Duterte’s defense begins presenting its case.

The defense maintained that the pre-trial order should remain in effect, warning that changing the sequence midway through the proceedings could undermine agreements reached by both parties.

“The Pre-Trial Order provides that the Prosecution must first complete the presentation of its evidence in all Articles before the respondent is called to answer,” the lawyers said.

The defense also invoked the constitutional presumption of innocence, arguing that prosecutors must first establish their allegations before Duterte is required to mount her defense.

“To compel the respondent to undergo a trial in which she is required to present evidence per Article before the Prosecution has even discharged its burden… is to effectively shift this burden on the respondent,” the defense argued.

Following the defense’s rejection, the prosecution will proceed with Article 1 of the impeachment complaint, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said on Wednesday.

Gatchalian said the Senate impeachment court received the defense team’s letter rejecting the proposed change, meaning the original trial sequence would remain in place.

“The prosecution will proceed with Article I because we received a letter yesterday stating that the defense does not agree to change the flow of the impeachment trial. Since both parties must agree before the sequence of proceedings can be altered, we will continue with Article I,” Gatchalian said in Filipino in a radio interview.

Article 1 involves allegations that Duterte misused P612 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) when she served as education secretary.

The House prosecution panel had earlier sought an alternate presentation of evidence per article, saying the approach would make the proceedings more “orderly, efficient, and focused.”

The three-page manifestation asked the impeachment court to consider the revised arrangement, which would allow each impeachment article to be taken up separately.

Gatchalian said the impeachment court had the authority to decide on the matter but preferred that both parties agree to the change to ensure fairness and due process.

“The impeachment court could decide the matter on its own, but we want both sides to agree. We want fairness and due process to prevail, and we want the impeachment trial to be conducted in an orderly manner,” he said.