Speedy trial? Prosecution says it's showing 'absolutely necessary' evidence

The House prosecution team on Thursday said that it will only present "absolutely necessary" evidence against Vice President Sara Duterte to avoid without delays in the impeachment trial.

Private prosecutor Benjamin Tolosa, Jr. and House prosecution team spokesperson Zia Adiong of Lanao del Sur made the comments in response to the Vice President’s remark that she wants a speedy impeachment trial.

“We don't see any problem with that," Tolosa said in an online press conference.

"We are for speedy disposition of the process, but of course, the speedy disposition of the cases, hindi naman ibig sabihin yan, kailangan natin siyang madaliin [that doesn't mean we have to hurry it up] at the expense of having the opportunity to fully present our case by presenting the evidence that we think are needed.”

“Unfortunately, there have been delays due to inclement weather that we have been experiencing. But on the side of the prosecution, it is clear that we have been taking steps to speed up the process. [For the Article of Impeachment] on grave threats, after presenting three witnesses, we dispensed with the other five to six witnesses because there's no more need for them,” he added, referring to Article 4 of the impeachment case.

Tolosa said that for Article 1 on the alleged misuse of the Vice President of P612.5 million worth of confidential funds, the prosecution will not be fielding witnesses more than they should.

“We will not present evidence that is not absolutely necessary,” he said.

Defense delays

Likewise, Tolosa said the Vice President should also take her own advice, given that her defense team earlier refused to stipulate or agree that the prosecution and the defense’s copies of the acknowledgment receipts used to liquidate the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education during the Vice President’s tenure as DepEd are just the same.

“When the defense defied the order of the Senate impeachment court to meet us to compare common exhibits, they gave us a day which unavoidably resulted to delay. So it would be better for both parties to take steps to avoid unnecessary delay,” Tolosa added.

Adiong, for his part, said speedy trial can go hand in hand with due process.

“There’s no problem with speedy presentation as long as it will not compromise the presentation of both panels, not only the prosecution panel but as well as the defense,” Adiong said.

“We also do not want repetitive testimonies coming from various witnesses because it would only waste the time of the court,” Adiong added. — BM, GMA News