Duterte impeachment trial may extend into 2027 — Chua

The Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte may continue into next year, with the House prosecution panel planning to present 62 witnesses and the defense identifying 30, Manila Third District Rep. Joel Chua said on Saturday.

"Basically, we now have our list of witnesses. And if we look at the trial schedule, we have requested 62 witnesses, while the defense has 30," Chua said during the Saturday News Forum.

"That is why they are saying that we might still be holding hearings until next year," he added.

Chua said the prosecution panel would not necessarily present all of its listed witnesses if it believes it has already established its case.

He stressed that the prosecution does not intend to prolong the proceedings unnecessarily and wants the trial concluded as soon as possible so the senator-judges can render their verdict.

According to Chua, the prosecution initially planned to present around 11 witnesses for the article involving the alleged threat case. However, after presenting three witnesses, the panel believed it had already proven the point it intended to establish.

"So we stopped there. The same approach will apply here. We have more or less 13 witnesses," he said.

"So if we can shorten the process, let's say after presenting eight or nine witnesses, and we believe our case is already very solid, then we can move on to the next article," the lawmaker added.

Chua explained that after the prosecution presents evidence for each of the four Articles of Impeachment, the defense will also present its own witnesses for every article.

"The proceedings will be quite lengthy. That is why, as much as possible, we want to limit the number of witnesses. But that does not mean that limiting the witnesses will weaken the strength of the evidence," he said.