THE Senate impeachment court should consider longer hours or adding more days to speed up the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, a member of the House prosecution panel said.
Former Surigao del Norte representative Robert Ace Barbers, an adviser to the panel, said the public is growing impatient because of delays in the proceedings due to weather-related suspensions and witness availability.
“We, too, are getting impatient. If possible, it would be better to increase the number of trial hours and trial days,” Barbers said in Filipino at a forum over the weekend.
He acknowledged that senator-judges must balance the trial with their legislative duties, but suggested moving legislative work to the morning and holding the impeachment proceedings later in the day.
“Do it in the morning — from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.— their legislative work, and then (the hearing) from 3 p.m. onwards. It’s up to them,” he said.
“The public is getting impatient. Especially when the discussion is technical — somewhat legal or technical. Even those who understand the subject sometimes find it hard to keep up, given the sheer length and duration,” he said.
He urged media outlets, social media bloggers, and spokespersons to make explanations of the proceedings shorter and clearer.
Barbers noted that the prosecution is also considering dropping witnesses whose testimony would only duplicate evidence already presented.
Changes to the trial schedule were earlier proposed with Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian and Presiding Officer Francis Escudero studying the possibility of extending the daily trial hours or holding proceedings in the afternoon to make up for lost time.
No final decision has been made on these options. For now, the trial will continue to start in the morning, with any changes to the schedule subject to further deliberation by the impeachment court.
Trial will resume on Tuesday with Philippine Army officials Lt. Col. Manaros Boransing II and Col. Panopio among the prosecution witnesses scheduled to appear.
They will testify on certifications allegedly issued by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to justify the spending of P15 million of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) confidential funds in 2023 when Duterte headed the agency.
In a radio interview, Sen. Erwin Tulfo also touched on the proposal to change the trial schedule.
Tulfo said the trial could be completed before Christmas, as the Senate prepares to speed up proceedings while making room for hearings on the 2027 national budget.
He said the trial could run until 11 p.m. under a proposed schedule aimed at giving the court more time to hear witnesses.
“The presiding officer said it could be finished before Christmas, so we will have to speed things up,” Tulfo said, referring to Escudero.
Tulfo said senators were prepared to extend their sessions if necessary.
“I don’t know when we will start since it is already afternoon. Even if we have to go until 11 p.m., we are no longer thinking about the session time,” he said.
The proposal to hold the trial in the afternoon was first floated by Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Tulfo said the senator-judges had yet to discuss and finalize the proposed schedule.
He said the schedule would have to be coordinated between the presiding officer and Senate Finance Committee Chairman JV Ejercito.
“We are really in a hurry as well. There is an impeachment trial, and the plan is to allocate Thursday and Friday for the budget hearings,” he said.
Tulfo said the revised schedule could take effect in September.
