The pre-trial conference for the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte will spill over into next week after both the prosecution and defense panels failed to finish marking their documentary evidence during the opening day on Thursday, June 18.
Defense spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa explained that the massive volume of documents requiring close examination and verification slowed down the initial day of the proceedings.
“We anticipate returning on Monday (June 22), and we’ve already been informed that there will be another session for the marking process,” Poa said.
“Hopefully, we can finish everything by Monday. If not, we’re prepared to come back on Tuesday (June 23) as well,” he added.
Poa stated that given the extensive paperwork attached to the remaining Articles of Impeachment, it is hard to pinpoint a definitive end date for the pre-trial phase.
He emphasized that because both legal teams must carefully review and compare every single piece of evidence to guarantee accuracy, a slow pace is to be expected.
“It’s not really that fast because we have to compare documents,” Poa said. “It’s only natural and normal that the marking does not proceed very quickly.”
While the defense wants to wrap up the preliminary phase swiftly, Poa maintained that a thorough evaluation of the records remains their priority. Despite the bottleneck, the defense panel is confident that the formal impeachment trial will kick off on its original July 6 schedule.
On a final note, Poa shared that both sides have agreed to keep their respective witness lists without any objections.
The defense plans to call between 25 and 30 witnesses to the stand. The final headcount remains fluid as several backup witnesses are still being evaluated.
“Probably in the coming days, I’ll give you a more concrete figure,” Poa said.
High-profile names floating around the defense’s potential witness list include former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, former Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla, alongside various state auditors and government officials.