The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte remains on schedule to begin on July 6, according to Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro, chairperson of the House Committee on Justice and lead prosecutor for the House panel.
Luistro confirmed the timeline following the opening of the Senate impeachment court’s pre-trial conference on June 18. The initial proceedings focused on the marking of documentary exhibits, a phase she expects to wrap up by Monday, June 22.
“And then ang maliwanag kahapon (June 18), ang start talaga ng trial is July 6 at magtutuloy-tuloy na ‘yan,” Luistro said.
“Kaya, we would like to commend the impeachment court, the prosecution team, and even the defense team for taking a stance towards an expeditious proceedings towards this pre-trial para makaumpisa na tayo sa July 6 because after all, ito matagal nang hinihintay ang taong bayan,” she added.
The pre-trial conference will resume on June 22 as both the prosecution and defense teams continue presenting and marking their respective evidence.
“So just to update, nag-start tayo kahapon ng marking of exhibits and hopefully matapos na this coming Monday ‘no sana matapos ngayong Monday kasi apat na articles of impeachment yan sa atin na isinampa,” she said.
Luistro noted that each of the four articles of impeachment requires distinct documentary exhibits, leading the panel to schedule the two largest and most extensive sets of documents for final marking on Monday.
“Iba ang documentary exhibits per article so ‘yung dalawang mahaba at marami, yan ang aming inihuli sa Monday,” Luistro added. “So hopefully matapos ngayong Monday ang marking of exhibits, pag natapos yun ang hihintayin naming is pre-trial order.”
Once the evidence marking concludes, the court will issue a pre-trial order, which Luistro explained will serve as the official framework governing the behavior and flow of the entire trial.
The lead prosecutor reiterated that the public can expect the formal trial to proceed without delay.
“Ang pinakaimportante dito para sa kaalaman ng ating kababayan, yun pong start ng trial on July 6, tuloy na tuloy na yan,” Luistro added.