No party dominated Duterte impeachment pre-trial conference - Bantug

MANILA, Philippines— Senate Secretary Renato Bantug disputed anew circulating reports that one party had dominated the other during the June 18 pre-trial conference for the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

“That’s not true,” Bantug, who serves as clerk of court in the impeachment trial of Duterte, told reporters on Monday before the resumption of the proceedings.

“We provided food,” he added, apparently in jest.

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Bantug though admitted that there had been some exchanges between the  House  prosecutors and the lawyers of the vice president when the pre-trial conference opened last week.

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But this is expected, he said, every time lawyers gather in  a room.

“It will be unusual if there will be  no exchange between lawyers,” Bantug pointed out.

“So nothing unusual, nothing extraordinary . It’s something that you expect whenever lawyers discuss.”

At the resumption of the pre-trial  conference, the court is expected to  complete the  marking of documentary  evidence for Articles I and II.

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Article 1 pertains to Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds while  Article II contains allegations that she  amassed unexplained wealth.

The marking of documentary evidence for  Articles III and IV were already completed on the first day of the pre-trial conference.

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Allegations that Duterte bribed officials to circumvent procurement  laws fall under Article III while Article IV contains allegations that she plotted to kill certain government officials, including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his wife, Liza.

Once the pre-trial conference is completed, Bantug said they would draft a pre-trial order for submission to the impeachment court.

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The impeachment trial is scheduled to start on July 6. /gsg