Lacson: Impeachment court seeks to speed up Sara Duterte trial

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate impeachment court is exploring ways to expedite the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, saying she is also entitled to a speedy trial, according to Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

“I think VP Sara is also entitled, just like any respondent in an ordinary court hearing, to a speedy trial. So we have to devise ways to speed up the proceedings. Speed it up not to compromise the presentation of the evidence, but speed it up in such a way that we don’t waste a day in the trial,” Lacson said in an interview with radio dzBB on Sunday.

Lacson, however, declined to comment when asked whether Duterte should have attended the trial after skipping last Tuesday’s proceedings.

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“No comment,” he said.

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READ: Sara Duterte impeachment trial Week 1 highlights

Duterte arrived at the Senate to meet with her defense lawyers but did not attend the impeachment proceedings.

According to Lacson, he suggested to Sen. Francis Escudero, the presiding officer of the impeachment court, that all witnesses scheduled to testify within the week stay in a holding room at the Senate during trial days from Monday to Wednesday.

“The witnesses lined up by the prosecution or defense for one week must already be in the Senate premises, so if ever we finish early with one witness, the next one is ready. No trial days would be wasted. We don’t have to adjourn the hearing early just because the next witness is not available,” he added.

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Lacson said Escudero was open to the suggestion to speed up the impeachment trial.

“There’s no need to exhaust the 11 days for just one article. It will take us until Christmas if our pace is one witness a week. Let’s say there are three witnesses, so that’s three weeks. Trial is only three days a week,” the senator said.

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READ: Gatchalian: Duterte impeachment docs now available on Senate website

The impeachment court has set 92 trial days to hear the four Articles of Impeachment, including 11 days for the article involving the alleged assassination plot, grave threats, and inciting to sedition; 31 days for the alleged misuse of confidential funds; 12 days for alleged unexplained wealth and false statements in the Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs); and eight days for alleged bribery and corruption in the Department of Education.

Instead of presenting National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Regional Director Jeremy Lontoc during the July 8 trial, the prosecution rescheduled his testimony to July 13.

Lontoc had already been subpoenaed by the impeachment court when the trial opened on July 6, along with NBI Senior Agent John Mark Calilung, a cybercrime agent presented by the prosecution as its first witness to establish the video evidence containing Duterte’s alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez during a press conference.

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Lengthy debates, objections, and questioning stretched the proceedings during Calilung’s testimony. /mcm