HOUSE prosecutor Leila de Lima on Wednesday said more than half of the evidence in the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte has already been marked, expressing confidence that the July 6 start of trial remains on schedule despite the volume of documents still being processed.
“Siguro more than 50 percent,” De Lima told reporters at the Senate when asked about the progress of the pre-marking of evidence.
Despite the workload, she said the ongoing process is not expected to affect the scheduled start of the impeachment trial.
“Hindi naman siguro maaantala July 6,” she said.
De Lima gave the update on the fourth day of pre-marking proceedings before the Senate impeachment court, where prosecutors and defense lawyers are reviewing documentary evidence ahead of trial.
To accelerate the process, Senate officials increased the number of marking teams from four to six and extended working hours from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
According to De Lima, the adjustments have already produced results.
“I was observing them because I’ve been present since the start of the pre-trial conference kanina na napapabilis na po talaga ‘yung proseso,” she said.
She said evidence related to Article 2 of the impeachment complaint, which concerns alleged unexplained wealth, could be completed within the day or by Thursday because it involves fewer documents than Article 1, which covers allegations involving confidential funds.
“Well today umaasa kami, hopefully doon sa Article 2, unexplained wealth, because hindi naman ganun ka-voluminous compared with the documents devoted to Article 1,” she said.
De Lima said the bigger challenge remains the marking of confidential fund-related documents, including acknowledgment receipts attributed to alleged recipients.
She added that the process has also taken longer because marked exhibits are being countersigned by representatives of both parties, a requirement she said was insisted upon by the defense.
