Sara Duterte impeachment pre-trial conference to resume Monday, June 22

MANILA, Philippines — The pre-trial conference for the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte will resume on Monday, June 22, after the parties completed the marking of evidence for only one article of impeachment, leaving three more to be tackled before the trial proper can begin.

Lawyer Michael Poa, spokesperson for Duterte’s defense team gave this update on the sidelines of the closed-door conference where he stated that only the respective parties’ evidence for Article III had finished being marked.

Article III contains the complaints involving bribery, graft and corruption, violation of the Constitution, and betrayal of public trust against Duterte.

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READ: Sara Duterte impeachment pre-trial conference commences

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“We anticipate returning here on Monday, and we’ve also already been informed that there will be another session on Monday for the marking process,” said Poa in an interview with reporters.

“Hopefully, we can finish everything by Monday. If not, we’re prepared to come back on Tuesday as well,” he added.

Poa explained that it is hard to give a definite timeline on when the pre-trial conference will end due to the amount of evidentiary documents needed to be marked for the other articles of impeachment.

“The marking process is not really that fast. Of course, we have to compare documents, so it’s only natural and normal that the marking does not proceed very quickly,” explained Poa.

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He, however, maintained that it would be in the best interest of the Defense team if the conference will conclude as soon as possible.

Poa also expressed confidence that, despite the pre-trial having to convene for another day, the July 6 target for the first day of trial remains feasible.

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List of witnesses

Meanwhile, Poa said both the defense and prosecution earlier agreed to stick with their proposed lists of witnesses.

For the part of the defense, Poa said that they have around 25 to 30 witnesses, explaining that he could not give the exact number due to the inclusion of “reserve witnesses.”

“Probably in the coming days I’ll give you a more concrete figure,” he told reporters.

Poa then said that both sides’ neither objected to each other’s list of witnesses.

Working relationship between defense and prosecution

Poa also once again stressed that the first day of the pre-trial went well despite floating rumors online of a supposed tension between the defense and prosecution.

READ: Heated discussions in Day 1 of pre-trial, but Poa says it’s normal

“I just want to make it clear that it is normal for both sides to have arguments. However, we cannot say that there is already real tension because that is normal in any pre-trial proceeding, not just in an impeachment case, but also in regular cases” said Poa.

“There’s nothing personal about it, it’s just work. In fact, we still talk with the prosecution. We haven’t seen any problem at all,” he added.

Poa then said that the only notable incident was during the morning, where both the defense and the prosecution agreed—through the clerk of court—to submit their comments regarding the stipulation of facts in writing on Monday.

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Poa explained that the agreement was made to further expedite the pre-trial process. /mr