House prosecutors have formally withdrawn the bribery charge against Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial, citing time constraints and the need to keep the proceedings within the timetable.
House prosecutor Jonathan Keith Flores confirmed that the prosecution panel submitted a written manifestation to the Senate Impeachment Court on Tuesday, formally dropping Article III, which covers the bribery allegation.
With the withdrawal, the unexplained wealth article will be the final article for which the prosecution panel will present evidence, Flores said.
Flores maintained that the prosecution did not need the impeachment court’s approval to withdraw the article, arguing that the decision fell within the panel’s discretion.
He clarified, however, that dropping the bribery article was not related to the strength of the case.
According to Flores, the panel was conscious of the timetable and believed there would not be enough time to proceed with the bribery charge.
He added that prosecutors did not want to further test the patience of the public and senator-judges by prolonging the proceedings.
The decision comes after allegations raised during a previous House hearing involving officials of the Department of Education.
During that hearing, it was disclosed that some DepEd officials had allegedly received envelopes containing amounts of up to 50,000 pesos.
The allegations were discussed in connection with the bribery article, which the House prosecution panel has now formally dropped from its presentation of evidence.
The withdrawal leaves unexplained wealth as the final article in the prosecution’s planned presentation before the Senate Impeachment Court.
Flores’ statements focused on the prosecution panel’s schedule and its decision to limit the remaining presentation of evidence. He said the move should not be interpreted as a judgment on the strength of the bribery allegations.
The impeachment proceedings against Duterte will continue with the prosecution’s presentation of evidence on the unexplained wealth article.
