House prosecutors to rest Sara impeachment case on Article II
The House Prosecution Panel will rest its case on the ongoing impeachment trial after it concludes its presentation of evidence on Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth, a lawmaker said.
Public prosecutor and Bukidon Rep. Keith Flores confirmed Friday that their group had filed a formal manifestation before the Senate impeachment court, expressing its intent to drop the Article of Impeachment on bribery.
“I think we already filed our manifestation last Tuesday, that we will be dropping bribery, so it’s already filed in our manifestation,” Flores said.
“The team already came to a decision that we will end with Article II,” he added.
Asked whether a response from the impeachment court was necessary for them to officially dispense with Article II, Flores maintained that the decision to present evidence was the sole prerogative of the prosecution panel
The lawmaker further stated that the decision to drop the bribery case was not a testament to the weakness of the allegations, noting that their team was simply considering the timetable of presentation that it had previously set.
“The decision to drop, to not proceed with bribery had nothing to do with the strength of the case, for us, we are conscious about the timetable that the prosecution set for us to prosecute the entire Articles of Impeachment,” he stated.
Flores said that it was the belief of the prosecution that they had presented “enough” evidence through the first three articles and that any further presentations were unnecessary.
“The timetable that we are talking about is that we think we have already presented enough on all the three articles and to drag it further to include bribery might be stretching the patience not only of the people but also the senator-judges a bit too long,” the lawmaker explained.
Echoing Flores’ remarks, public prosecutor Rep. Rodge Gutierrez maintained that all the Articles of Impeachment that were transmitted to the Senate were strong.
“All articles that were filed would stand on their own,” Gutierrez said.
The development came after weeks of conflicting statements from prosecutors on whether the article on bribery would be tackled in the trial.
Throughout the week, prosecutors have presented numerous witnesses concerning the bank accounts, transactions, and tax records of the Vice President and her husband Atty. Manases “Mans” Carpio.
The panel is expected to present its final witness on the proceedings this Friday after Bureau of Internal Revenue official Atty. Anne Lorraine Garcia-Marquez in forensic expert Atty. Alex Cabrera.