Senate court allows prosecution to drop 3 impeachment articles vs. Sara Duterte

The Senate impeachment court on Tuesday accepted the move by the House prosecution panel to withdraw three of the four Articles of Impeachment leveled against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero made the ruling after the prosecution told the Senate court that it will no longer pursue the three Articles of Impeachment and will only retain one: Article 2 on amassing of unexplained wealth due to failure to disclose assets in the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) and non-divestment of business interests despite Constitutional prohibition.

“The court accepts and confirms the prosecution’s manifestation,” Escudero said.

The prosecution decided to drop Article I on confidential funds, Article III on bribery, and Article IV on assassination plot, grave threats, and inciting to sedition against the President after a week of testimonies from the Anti-Money Laundering Council, bank and insurance firm officials, as well as lawyer and accountant Alexander Cabrera, accusing the Vice President and her husband of accumulating unexplained wealth worth P817 million at the least and P1.5 billion at the most.

Escudero said the impeachment court should allow the alternate presentation of evidence between the prosecution and the defense to avoid a situation wherein the defense would not be able to rebut allegations whose evidence was presented but is suddenly withdrawn. —AOL, GMA News