House prosecution drops bribery charge vs VP Sara Duterte

The House prosecution panel will drop the bribery allegation against Vice President Sara Duterte from her impeachment case in an effort to speed up proceedings and prevent the trial from extending into next year, Manila Rep. Joel Chua said Sunday.

“Yes, it is confirmed,” Chua, a member of the prosecution panel, said in a radio interview.

The decision ends weeks of uncertainty over whether prosecutors would continue pursuing Article III of the impeachment case.

“If I remember it correctly, it was announced by congresswoman Jinky Luistro…the reason why it was announced early was for the defense to prepare and for us to not be a cause of any further delay,” Chua said.

Article III accuses Duterte of bribing Department of Education officials while she served as education secretary from 2022 to 2024.

Among the allegations were nine envelopes allegedly given to then-DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Jumamil-Mercado, each containing ₱50,000.

Jumamil-Mercado previously told a House hearing that she believed the money may have been intended to influence her decisions as the department’s head of procuring entity.

Chua said dropping the article was not because prosecutors considered the case weak, but was intended to shorten the proceedings. He said the panel believes the evidence presented under the remaining impeachment allegations is sufficient.

Prosecutors had initially hoped to finish presenting their evidence in the coming week before turning the case over to the defense.

Chua said the panel hopes the impeachment trial can conclude by the end of the year.

“We expect, hopefully, that it will not spill into next year, hopefully it will end by November or at the latest is December,” Chua said. “But at the end of the day, of course, it still depends on the defense.”

Nearly three months into the trial, prosecutors have completed their presentation on allegations involving threats against high-ranking officials and the alleged misuse of confidential funds.

The panel is now presenting evidence related to Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth and is expected to introduce financial records involving her bank transactions, with witnesses from the Anti-Money Laundering Council set to testify.

Impeachment court spokesperson Reggie Tongol previously said a verdict could be reached by 16 December.