Prosecution favors 3 p.m., Friday trial schedule for Sara Duterte impeachment

The House prosecution team favors starting the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at 3 p.m. onward, and even holding it on Fridays, to speed up the proceedings.

House prosecution team adviser and former Surigao del Norte representative Ace Barbers and private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan made the comments amid the cancellation of two days of trial this week, August 18 and 19, due to heavy rainfall and flooding brought by the monsoon rains.

The impeachment court starts the trial at 10 a.m. until 2 to 2:30 p.m. for the Senate plenary session, where bills are deliberated and approved, at 3 p.m.

“Legislative work can be done in the morning, then we go to trial from 3 p.m. onwards. This is because legislation and the impeachment trial are equally important,” Barbers said in an online press conference.

“If and when they want to extend a little bit more and become patriotic, then we hold trial on Fridays because it is a free day. We can do the whole day [of impeachment trial] on Fridays, and the Senate can do committee hearings on Thursdays,” he added.

The House and the Senate currently observe a four-day work week from Monday to Thursday.

“I think, if we want to finish this as early as possible, siguro para hindi tayo abutin ng Pasko, eh siguro magdagdag ng isang araw,” Barbers said.

(If we want to finish this as early as possible, so we won’t reach Christmas (December), we should add one more trial day.)

Kapunan then said that a 3 p.m. trial schedule would be more practical.

“That schedule will be ideal since we can conduct the trial uninterrupted,” she said.

“The sooner [the new schedule is implemented], the better,” Kapunan added.

The Articles of Impeachment approved by the House for Senate action 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 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 chief

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 all her and her spouse's assets, liabilities, and net worth in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) including in her SALN for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024;

d) failure to divest, and instead, willfully continued, all her business interests during her tenure as vice president for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025

e) giving monetary gifts or payments to DepEd officials to induce the violation and circumvention of procurement and other related laws.

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