Prosec resting Article 2 raps

The House prosecution panel will rest its case in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte after concluding its evidence presentation on her alleged unexplained wealth.

Public prosecutor and Bukidnon Rep. Keith Flores confirmed Friday that the lawyers seeking VP Duterte’s conviction filed a formal manifestation before the Senate impeachment court, expressing their intent to drop the bribery article of impeachment.

“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 2,” he added.

Asked whether the impeachment court needed to respond for them to dispense with Article 2 officially, Flores maintained that the prosecution panel alone had the prerogative to present evidence.

The lawmaker said the decision to drop the bribery case did not reflect weak allegations, noting that their team was following the presentation timetable it had set.

“The decision to drop the bribery allegations 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 said.

Evidence sufficient

Flores said the prosecution believed it 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,” the lawmaker explained.

Echoing Flores’s 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 will stand on their own,” Gutierrez said.