Witnesses in VP Sara impeachment trial already vetted, House prosecutor says

The House prosecution panel has already screened the witnesses it will present in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, one of its members said on Thursday.

Ako Bicol party-list Jil Bongalon, one of 11 members House prosecution team, said the panel was at least 90% done with its preparations even if the Senate has yet to convene for the proceedings.

"Probably [we are] 90 to 95% [done with preparations]. Kasi 'yung mga testigo naman, of course, nasala [na] rin natin 'yan sa mga naging pagdinig sa Kongreso. We already have the names of the witnesses," Bongalon said.

(Probably we are 90 to 95% done with preparations. Of course, the witnesses were previously vetted since they also testified in House inquiries. We already have the names of the witnesses.)

"Pinag-aaralan namin kung magdadagdag pa kami or kung enough na 'yung mga taong 'yun bilang aming testigo rito sa impeachment case," Bongalon added.

(We are studying if we will add more witnesses or if we already have enough for the impeachment case.)

Bongalon, however, did not disclose the names of the witnesses.

Aside from testimonial evidence, Bongalon said House prosecutors also have documentary evidence against the Vice President in their custody.

"We are prepared [to prosecute] in those seven Articles [of impeachment]. We are preparing our documentary evidence, and we have a list of the witnesses to be presented in order to corroborate or substantiate the allegations against the Vice President," Bongalon said.

The House impeached Duterte on February 5 with 215 House members signing off on the impeachment complaint.

The number was more than the constitutional requirement of one-third of all House members to send the Articles of Impeachment straight to the Senate without having to go through committee-level deliberations in the lower chamber.

Another 25 congressmen later signed the complaint, bringing the total number of endorsers to 240.

While it is the House prosecutors' contention that the Senate can now proceed with the Vice President's impeachment trial, Senate President Francis Escudero has maintained that the trial cannot be held while Congress is in session.

Instead, Escudero has said the trial can start when 19th Congress resumes for two weeks in June, and end by October in the 20th Congress.

On Thursday, Escudero showed a proposed calendar of impeachment activities starting July 30.

Given Escudero's timeline, the composition of both the senator-judges and the House prosecution panel will certainly change depending on the outcome of the May 12 midterm polls.

Regardless of poll results

Bongalon, however, said the prosecution's preparation for the Vice President's impeachment trial is not contingent on May 2025 poll results.

"Our focus is with respect to the preparation for the pending impeachment trial. Regardless of the results of the elections, regardless of the results of the surveys, we won't be affected by it. It is the people who are going to decide who they will choose and vote for the Senate, but we don't have control over that," Bongalon said.

The House impeachment case accuses the Vice President of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.

Just one to convict

Bongalon expressed belief that the impeachment trial can be feasibly finished within three months, since House prosecutors would only need to prove at least one of the seven Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President.

"Considering that there's already a directive [from the Senate President] asking for the organization of the administrative support to the Senate sitting as an impeachment court, hopefully the Senate will change its mind given the provision of the Constitution that the trial should [forthwith] proceed. We still have all the time even before the 19th Congress ends. I guess the remaining months are sufficient to finish the trial. I think that [in] two to three months, I guess, kayang tapusin itong impeachment trial (the impeachment trial can be finished within that time), Bongalon said.

"We don't need to prove all the seven Articles [of Impeachment]. Just [presenting sufficient evidence on] one article is sufficient to convict the Vice President. If assuming that in one article is already enough [proof] and we were able to convince the senators, sitting as senator-judges, then we can waive the second until the seventh article," Bongalon added.

"In terms of possibility, there's a possibility of abbreviation in the impeachment trial, depending on our strategy on where to start," Bongalon said.

"The conservative estimate is that it will only last three months if the trial proceeds by March 2025," Bongalon added.

Duterte later filed a Supreme Court petition challenging the validity of the impeachment complaint.

No contradiction

Sheila Sison, counsel for the Vice President, has maintained that their petition before the Supreme Court was not contrary to Duterte's position that she was willing to face an impeachment trial.

"The question that we're respectfully asking the Supreme Court to decide is whether this is permitted. Is the House permitted to have that unbridled discretion with its own set of rules that it had promulgated for impeachment proceedings just so it could pave the way for some fourth impeachment complaint," Sison said, referring to the complaint that the House endorsed to the Senate.

"Sa tingin ko, walang contradiction 'yung statement ni Vice President na she's willing to face whatever charges against sa kanya, hindi naman nagbabago 'yun. Hindi naman ibig sabihin na nag-file siya ng petisyon para kuwestiyunin 'yung proseso... hindi ibig sabihin na ayaw na niyang humarap," she added.

(I don't think there is a contradiction between the statement of the Vice President that she is willing to face charges filed against her. That has not changed. It does not mean that just because she filed a petition questioning the process, she is unwilling to face these accusations.) —VDV, GMA Integrated News