THE Senate impeachment court may have to adjust the schedules of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte after delays have accumulated over the past several days, court spokesman Reginald Tongol said on Wednesday.
Tongol said the trial has been delayed by about two to three days because of bad weather, prompting the court to study measures to recover the lost time without necessarily affecting the proceedings’ overall schedule.
Tongol explained that the testimony of some witnesses has also taken longer than initially expected. Witnesses who were originally expected to appear for only a day may now require two or three days to present their testimony and undergo questioning by the prosecution, defense and senator-judges.
Despite the delays, Tongol said there is no immediate cause for concern because the impeachment court has the option of postponing or extending the dates allotted for both the prosecution and the defense.
He noted that the court is accustomed to adjusting trial schedules when circumstances require it.
“It’s only a matter of two or three days,” Tongol said, emphasizing that the court can still make the necessary adjustments to accommodate the lost time.
Among the options being considered is the holding of impeachment proceedings on additional days, including Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, to make up for sessions that were canceled.
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian and Presiding Officer Francis Escudero are also studying the possibility of extending the daily trial hours or holding proceedings in the afternoon to recover some of the lost time.
Tongol, however, stressed that no final decision has been made on these options. For now, the impeachment trial will continue to start in the morning, with any changes to the schedule subject to further deliberation by the Senate impeachment court.
The adjustments are being considered as the court continues to hear the House prosecution panel’s case against Duterte, with witnesses from the Commission on Audit and other government agencies being presented to substantiate the impeachment allegations.
The defense is expected to have its own opportunity to present witnesses and evidence once the prosecution completes its case.
Madriaga testimony
Also on Wednesday, Duterte’s lawyer Paolo Panelo said Ramil Madriaga could become a “star witness” for the defense if the prosecution presents him during the impeachment trial.
Panelo said the defense is confident it can use its cross-examination of Madriaga to expose what it claims are false statements in his affidavits and testimony.
“If the prosecution presents Ramil Madriaga, it’s their funeral because he will just be slaughtered during the defense team’s cross-examination,” Panelo said during an online press conference.
He said the defense was already “telegraphing” its evidence against Madriaga through the perjury complaints filed against him.
“Everything about his lies will come out,” Panelo said, adding that the defense knows Madriaga would have difficulty answering the evidence presented against him.
Panelo said Madriaga is also included as the defense’s first witness on its list, meaning the defense just might call him even if the prosecution decides not to present him.
The defense counsel said the second perjury complaint and its supporting evidence are being transmitted to Duterte’s impeachment defense team for possible use during the trial.
Panelo said the complaints contain evidence intended to challenge Madriaga’s accounts, including his allegations involving the alleged delivery and disbursement of confidential funds.
But House prosecutor Rep. Terry Ridon dismissed Panelo’s claim that presenting Madriaga as a prosecution witness could backfire on the impeachment prosecution.
“Before Paolo Panelo talks about the prosecution’s witness presentation, he should first make sure he is part of the impeachment defense panel, not merely a spectator like his father,” Ridon told The Manila Times in a Viber message.
Ridon said the prosecution had nearly completed its presentation on the alleged misuse of Duterte’s confidential funds, citing the testimony of former Office of the Vice President special disbursing officer Gina Acosta.
“Based on Ms. Acosta’s testimony recently, the presentation of evidence on the vice president’s misuse of confidential funds is almost complete,” Ridon said.
He said Acosta’s testimony that Duterte ordered her to release P125 million in confidential funds to Col. Raymund Dante Lachica was sufficient to establish betrayal of public trust based on the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
Ridon said the prosecution would decide whether it still needs to present additional witnesses in the coming days.
