Sara Duterte impeachment trial length hinges on prosecution — Sherwin Gatchalian

The duration of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will largely depend on the prosecution's strategy, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said Sunday.

According to Gatchalian, the proceedings could end sooner than expected if prosecutors are able to present compelling documentary evidence that reduces the need for numerous witnesses.

"That's going to depend on the prosecution's strategy. Right now, if you look at it, the ball is in their court. It hinges on what evidence they present," he said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

"If they already have rock-solid evidence, they may no longer need as many witnesses," the Senate President added.

Gatchalian said the current pace of the trial is largely due to the number of witnesses and pieces of evidence lined up by the prosecution.

"The reason this is taking so long is because of the number of witnesses—there are more than 100. Plus, the pieces of evidence number in the thousands. In other words, we're moving slowly because we hear only one witness a day," he said.

"But if the evidence presented is strong enough, I think they can reduce the number of witnesses," Gatchalian added.

The impeachment trial began on July 6, with sessions initially scheduled from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Proceedings were suspended on July 27 and 28 to give way to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s State of the Nation Address and the Senate minority bloc's Kontra-SONA activities.

When the trial resumed on July 29, the Senate adopted a new schedule, with sessions now running from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Earlier, Senator-Judge Panfilo "Ping" Lacson proposed requiring witnesses scheduled to testify each week to stay within the Senate premises to minimize delays and ensure that hearings proceed without interruption.

Meanwhile, the House prosecution panel has said it is prepared to present up to 13 witnesses as the trial proceeds to Article I, which accuses Duterte of allegedly misusing P612.5 million in confidential funds.— MCG, GMA News