THE impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will continue to be held in the morning this week, despite proposals from senator-judges to hold the proceedings in the afternoon, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said on Sunday.
In a statement, Gatchalian said senators will discuss this week the proposed change in schedule.
“We will finalize this proposal this week. We need to give the parties ample time to adjust accordingly. We will keep you posted,” he said.
Bad weather forced an early suspension of the trial last Monday, and the Senate impeachment court postponed trial days on Tuesday and Wednesday as the southwest monsoon caused flooding in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
The weather, along with impending hearings on the proposed 2027 national budget, has led to suggestions to change the schedule of the impeachment trial.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Saturday said the Senate majority had agreed to hold the impeachment trial from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. from Monday to Wednesday, to allow the proceedings to continue without interruptions.
At the same time, the Senate’s plenary session may be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“That was discussed in our chat group; among the majority of us — or at least within that specific chat group — that was the prevailing sentiment or opinion, that we should hold the session in the morning so that the impeachment trial wouldn’t be cut short,” Lacson said.
He said the proposed afternoon trial session will be more practical since there will be less pressure to strictly adjourn.
“If there are pressing matters on the legislative side, we can flip the schedule again if needed,” Lacson said.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo said there would be a caucus on Monday to finalize the schedule.
“We, the majority and the minority, will meet on Monday (at the lounge) to get the consensus of the majority of the members if they agree to move the trial in the afternoon to give more time and speed up the trial,” Tulfo said.
Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua, a member of the House prosecution panel, backed the schedule change, saying the proceedings should move forward without compromising the substance of the case.
“We agree with the proposal of our honorable senator-judges. Naturally, what we want — as the saying goes — is to avoid ‘justice delayed, justice denied,’” Chua said in Filipino in a radio interview on Sunday.
“Of course, we want this concluded immediately, without compromising the justice we are seeking,” he said.
Chua said the prosecutors aim to complete their presentation of evidence and witnesses by the end of September.
“That’s our target, but as is the case now, there are unforeseen events. We had two days of storms, which delayed our presentation, so we will recalibrate,” he said.
The prosecution is also considering reducing its witness list for Article I, which concerns alleged misuse of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd).
The panel decided to move on after determining that the testimony of its initial witnesses had sufficiently established its case.
The same assessment is now being made for Article I, Chua said.
“Our decision isn’t final yet. As of now, all of that is still being discussed and weighed,” Chua said.
The court is set to resume its examination of hostile witness Gina Acosta on Monday.
Acosta, a former special disbursing officer for the Office of the Vice President (OVP), will continue her testimony under direct examination by the House prosecution panel as a hostile witness.
Acosta had testified that Duterte, as head of agency, instructed her to turn over the P125 million to Col. Raymond Dante Lachica, at the time the head of Duterte’s security group, and the “security officer” Duterte designated for the OVP’s confidential operations.
This is information that Acosta had previously shared at a 2024 House hearing, which prosecutor Amando Virgil Ligutan repeatedly cited, reading back and playing portions of the transcript to have her affirm the same answers before the impeachment court.
Next to take the witness stand is Edward Fajarda, a former special disbursing officer of the DepEd.
Aside from Acosta and Fajarda, who are considered hostile witnesses, the prosecution also plans to present two more witnesses in the confidential funds charge.
This includes an expert from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) who is expected to focus on alleged falsification of signatures on acknowledgment receipts or ARs.
A representative of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is also expected to testify and provide certification that names appearing on the receipts, including Mary Grace Piattos, have no records of birth, marriage, or death in the country.
