MANILA, Philippines — House prosecutors are still considering whether to drop the bribery article against Vice President Sara Duterte as they seek to shorten her impeachment trial, private prosecutor Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. said Saturday.
Tolosa said the prosecution panel is reviewing Article III and its remaining witnesses to determine whether it can present its case without extending the proceedings into next year.
“We always say that we don’t want this to extend into next year,” Tolosa said during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.
Article III involves allegations of bribery involving Department of Education officials during Duterte’s tenure as education secretary. Prosecutors have not made a final decision on whether to withdraw the article.
Tolosa said the panel is also reviewing its witness list for other articles and plans to stop presenting witnesses once it establishes the necessary evidence.
He cited the prosecution’s presentation on the grave threats allegation, where prosecutors stopped calling additional witnesses after they determined that they had presented enough evidence.
Tolosa said prosecutors planned to take a similar approach in presenting evidence involving confidential funds.
The review of the bribery article followed lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro’s Sept. 3 statement that the panel was assessing the article and its remaining witnesses.
Tolosa also cited the 2012 impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona as a precedent for narrowing an impeachment case. Prosecutors in that trial withdrew five of the eight articles of impeachment.
“But again, just to be clear, there is no final decision yet on that,” Tolosa said.