Duterte impeachment: Defense 'optimistic' pretrial ends on June 25

[Updated June 25, 2026, 3:25 p.m.]

MANILA, Philippines – Both the defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte and the House prosecution panel are “optimistic” that the impeachment pretrial will end on Thursday, June 25, the fifth day of the conference.

Defense spokesperson and lawyer Michael Poa told the media this halfway through the fifth day of the pretrial.

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“We are very optimistic that we will be able to finish pre-marking by the end of the day today,” he said in Filipino.

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In an interview, House prosecutor Rep. Terry Ridon was asked about the possibility of the pretrial ending within the day.

“Barring any delays, hopefully matapos by 4 or 5 (p.m.) – the latest at the end of the day, which is 7 p.m.,” he said.

Later, Ridon told the media that there are less than 1,000 documents left for marking.

Poa attributed the possible conclusion of the pretrial to the pace of the markings done on Wednesday and Thursday morning.

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“We made good progress yesterday and this morning. At least in my marking station, I think we’ll be able to finish by 3 or 4 p.m.,” he said in Filipino.

READ: Day 5 of Sara Duterte impeachment pretrial commences

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“I also consulted my co-counsels in the defense team. They are also very optimistic that their assigned markings will also wrap up today,” he added.

The marking of evidence is divided into six teams composed of members of the prosecution, the defense, and members of the Office of the Senate Secretary, which serves as the clerk of court.

Four teams are handling documents related to Article I of the impeachment complaint, which pertains to Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds.

Article II, which refers to Duterte’s supposed unexplained wealth, is being handled by two teams.

The pretrial conference was initially expected to finish on its second day last Monday, but was extended to its scheduled conclusion on Thursday due to the volume of documents that needed to be marked.

Article I alone, according to Clerk of Court Renato Bantug, has 8,000 documents in total that must be marked before the impeachment trial.

The remaining articles have been undergoing the pre-marking process since Monday, as documents for Articles III and IV were marked all-in-all on June 18, the first day of the pretrial.

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Articles III and IV refer to the vice president’s alleged bribery and public pronouncements of supposedly hiring a hitman to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez. /mcm /mr/mcm