The Senate impeachment court expects to discuss before August the allegations involving Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
Impeachment court spokesperson Atty. Reginald Tongol said discussions on Article I could be completed before August after the prosecution withdrew six additional witnesses from the proceedings.
Under Article I of the impeachment complaint, Duterte is accused of betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption over the alleged irregular use and liquidation of P500 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President and P112.5 million in confidential funds from the Department of Education.
Tongol said the withdrawal of the six witnesses could shorten the presentation of the prosecution’s evidence on the article.
During the proceedings, the prosecution and the defense also disagreed on whether the prosecution should provide a detailed explanation for its decision to withdraw the witnesses.
The exchange centered on whether the reasons behind removing witnesses from the list should be fully explained before the impeachment court.
No ruling on that procedural issue was mentioned in the proceedings described.
The impeachment trial continues as both parties present their arguments and address procedural matters before the Senate impeachment court.
The allegations concerning the confidential funds remain among the key issues in the impeachment complaint against Duterte. Court officials expect discussions on the article to move forward before August, subject to the schedule of the proceedings and developments during the trial.
The prosecution’s decision to withdraw six witnesses was cited as a factor that could allow the impeachment court to conclude discussions on the article earlier than initially anticipated.
