THE House prosecution panel is in the final stages of preparing its case against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, with prosecutors now completing the lineup of witnesses and documentary evidence they will present before the Senate impeachment court, House prosecutor and Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said Saturday.
Appearing at the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City, Ridon said the prosecution is focused on ensuring that all evidence and witnesses are ready ahead of the pre-trial proceedings scheduled for mid-June.
“So naghahanda po kami towards pre-trial, lahat po ng mga ebidensya ay pinipinal, lahat po ng mga dokumento ay pinipinal, lahat po ng mga witnesses ay mapipinal po para pagka nagkaroon po ng pre-trial conference kasama po ng Senate impeachment court at ng kabilang panig ay handang-handa na po ang prosecution panel,” Ridon said.
The House prosecutor said the preparations are in line with the timetable set by the Senate impeachment court, which has scheduled pre-trial proceedings this month and the start of trial on July 6.
“Sa bahagi po ng House prosecution panel ay tuloy-tuloy po ‘yung aming paghahanda at ‘yun pong definite timelines na ibinigay po ng Senate impeachment court, ‘yun pong pre-trial proceedings sa gitna po ng Hunyo at ‘yun pong start ng trial ng July 6 ay pinaghahandaan po namin,” he said.
Ridon added that prosecutors and volunteer private lawyers have already begun conducting mock trials covering each article of impeachment to sharpen their presentation of evidence and witness testimonies.
“So dito sa nakaraang mga araw, nagaganap na po ‘yung mga mock trials para sa each and every article of impeachment. So nagsasanay na po ‘yung mga public at ‘yung pong mga volunteer private lawyers po namin para po rito,” he said.
The Articles of Impeachment accuse Duterte of misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery, and threats against top government officials.
Ridon also disclosed that the panel would no longer file a formal reply to the Vice President’s answer before the impeachment court, arguing that it failed to directly address the allegations contained in the Articles of Impeachment.
“Minarapat din po ng House prosecution panel na hindi po mag-submit ng formal reply doon sa answer, non-answer ng ating pong pangalawang pangulo,” Ridon said.
“Ang isa-submit lang po ng House prosecution panel ay manifestation dahil tingin po namin wala naman pong sinagot kahit ano ang atin pong pangalawang pangulo point per point doon po sa Articles of Impeachment na ibinigay sa kanya.”
The House prosecution panel earlier said it intends to present documentary, financial and testimonial evidence, including reports from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), findings from government investigations, and other records supporting the allegations contained in the impeachment complaint.
The Senate impeachment court is expected to conduct pre-trial proceedings this month ahead of the formal trial set to begin on July 6.
