Posibleng lumampas pa ng September ang impeachment trial ni Vice President Sara Duterte dahil sa dami ng witnesses at ebidensiyang planong iharap ng prosecution at defense, ayon kay Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro.
Sa media briefing nitong Lunes, sinabi ni Luistro na hindi na tiyak ang una niyang tantiyang matatapos ang trial pagsapit ng September.
“If I would consider the number of witnesses and exhibits of both parties, it seems unlikely that the trial can be finished by September,” sabi ni Luistro.
“Nevertheless, the number of trial dates for the prosecution and the defense is subject to the discretion of the impeachment court,” dagdag niya.
Ayon kay lawyer Benjamin Tolosa Jr., bagong private prosecutor at spokesperson ng House impeachment team, humiling ang prosecution ng 62 trial dates para maiharap ang ebidensiya nito. Humihingi naman ng 30 dates ang defense counsel ni Duterte.
Pero ani Tolosa, depende pa rin sa takbo ng trial kung kakailanganin ng prosecution ang buong 62 araw.
“If the court would allow us to present two witnesses per day, then it will be shorter,” sabi ni Tolosa. “It will depend on how it will actually unfold during the trial.”
Kinuwestyon din ni Tolosa ang agwat sa pagitan ng 30 trial dates na hinihiling ng defense at ng 97 witnesses na inilista nito.
“Maybe it’s an indication that there’s really no intention to produce all of those witnesses,” sabi niya.
Ayon kay Tolosa, may 51 common witnesses ang prosecution at defense teams, kabilang ang mga opisyal mula sa Office of the Vice President at Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Sinabi niya na naglista ang defense counsel ni Duterte ng 35 unnamed witnesses, habang direktang tinukoy ng prosecution panel ang mga opisyal na nais nitong ma-examine.
“For the common witnesses, there are 16 named common witnesses and there are 35 unnamed,” sabi ni Tolosa, kabilang ang “six or seven representatives from the OVP and three from BIR.”
Binanggit din ni Tolosa na sa 276 pieces of evidence at exhibits na inilista ng prosecution, 248 ang overlap sa listahan ng defense team ni Duterte.
Nakatakdang magsimula sa July 6 ang trial ni Duterte.
Nakapaloob sa Articles of Impeachment ang mga alegasyon ng culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, at betrayal of public trust kaugnay ng umano’y misuse, misappropriation, at irregular use ng confidential funds na P500 million sa Office of the Vice President at P112.5 million sa Department of Education.
Kasama rin ang alegasyon ng unexplained wealth—umano’y hindi pagdedeklara ng lahat ng assets sa kanyang statements of net worth para sa 2022, 2023, at 2024—at bribery at graft kaugnay ng umano’y monetary gifts o payments sa mga opisyal ng Department of Education, pati na rin umano’y assassination plot, grave threats, at inciting to sedition. /Bistado