House prosecutors seek alternating evidence presentation

The House prosecution panel has asked the Senate impeachment court to allow the prosecution and defense to present evidence alternately for each Article of Impeachment, giving Vice President Sara Duterte’s camp the opportunity to immediately rebut the prosecution’s allegations.

In a three-page manifestation submitted to the Senate impeachment court, the House prosecution panel said the proposed format would result in “a more organized and coherent presentation of evidence” and facilitate “a clearer appreciation of the factual and legal issues unique to each charge.”

“The prosecution respectfully signifies its preference for an alternating presentation of evidence by the Prosecution and the Respondent on an article-by-article basis,” read the manifestation filed by the House prosecution panel led by Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro.

“The format would allow the impeachment court and the parties to focus on one Article of Impeachment at a time,” the prosecution added.

Under the usual procedure, the prosecution would first complete the presentation of its evidence on all Articles of Impeachment before the defense presents its case.

The House prosecution panel said the proposed sequencing would also enable the impeachment court “to receive and evaluate all evidence relating to each charge in a more comprehensive and self-contained manner.”

The prosecution, however, clarified that the decision ultimately rests with the Senate impeachment court.

“The sequencing of evidence properly rests within the constitutional authority and sound discretion of the impeachment court, and we are willing to abide by whatever procedure the Impeachment Court, in the exercise of its constitutional authority, ultimately adopts,” the manifestation read.

The impeachment trial of Vice President Duterte resumes on Wednesday, July 29, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Articles of Impeachment approved by the House accuse the Vice President of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, bribery, and other high crimes based on the following alleged acts:

a) systematic misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of confidential funds amounting to P500 million released to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million released to the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure as Education secretary;

b) amassing unexplained wealth manifestly disproportionate to her lawful income and earnings during her incumbency as a public official;

c) failure to fully and truthfully disclose her and her spouse’s assets, liabilities, and net worth in her statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALNs), including those for 2022, 2023, and 2024;

d) failure to divest herself of her business interests and instead willfully continuing to hold them during her tenure as Vice President in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025;

e) giving monetary gifts or payments to DepEd officials to induce violations and circumvention of procurement and other related laws; and

f) contracting for the assassination of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former House Speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez; making grave threats; and actively inciting sedition against the Republic.

Items (a), (e), and (f) constitute Articles I, III, and IV, respectively, while items (b), (c), and (d) are subsections of Article II of the Articles of Impeachment.

The Vice President has maintained that the impeachment case against her should be dismissed for lack of evidence and that her alleged threat to have President Marcos and members of his family killed was protected by her right to freedom of expression. — MCG, GMA News