MANILA, Philippines — The prosecution panel of the House of Representatives has requested 31 trial days to present witnesses and documentary evidence supporting its allegations that Vice President Sara Duterte misused more than P612.5 million in confidential funds, indicating that the presentation of evidence on the first article of impeachment alone could take more than two months under the Senate impeachment court's current schedule.
Senate Impeachment Court spokesman Reginald Tongol said the timetable was disclosed during the pretrial conference, where prosecutors outlined the scope of their evidence for Article I of the impeachment complaint, which accuses Duterte of the alleged misuse and misappropriation of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
Tongol said the prosecution initially listed 27 witnesses but has since informed the impeachment court that it intends to present only 13.
Despite the reduction in the number of witnesses, Tongol said the length of the proceedings would largely depend on the authentication and identification of documentary evidence that prosecutors intend to offer during the trial.
"The pace of the trial will still depend on the authentication and identification of the documents to be presented," Tongol said.
