Prosecution sees no need for additional witnesses in Sara Duterte impeachment trial

The prosecution may still present rebuttal evidence against the defense during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte but sees no need to do so, a member of the prosecution team said Saturday.

“It's their [defense team] turn now to present evidence. Usually, in normal cases, there can still be a rebuttal of evidence after the prosecution presents its case and the defense presents its evidence, followed by another rebuttal from the prosecution,” Jay Tolosa said during the Saturday News Forum.

“But for now, we do not see any need to do that or to call additional witnesses,” he added.

Tolosa said the prosecution believes the evidence it presented is sufficient, expressing confidence in the case it has built and noting that it is now the defense's turn to try to dismantle its evidence.

The impeachment trial is scheduled to resume on 19 November, following the 2026 ASEAN Summit, which will be held from 16 to 18 November.

Defense presenting witnesses

Tolosa, however, said the duration of the defense's presentation would depend on the number of witnesses it would call during the two-day hearing next week. The defense team is expected to present eight to 10 witnesses.

“Possibly, it could extend until the first week of December. Trial dates will be set again if the proceedings are not yet finished,” the House prosecutor said.

“So that is what we are looking forward to. That is why, in line with what the [Senate] presiding officer stated, we hope they will list many witnesses so that if some of them withdraw again or refuse to testify, the two days will not go to waste,” Tolosa added.

He said the prosecution team recognized the defense's right to determine which witnesses it would present.

The prosecutor maintained that the evidence already presented by the prosecution was “sufficient,” citing the summary presented by financial forensic analyst and lawyer Alex Cabrera, which placed the Vice President's unexplained wealth at at least P817 million.

“We're satisfied with that [evidence presented]. We do not see the need to present additional evidence,” Tolosa said.