By Politiko staff
The House prosecution panel and Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team traded accusations on Tuesday (June 23) as the pre-trial conference for the impeachment case stretched into a third day, bogged down by the painstaking process of marking thousands of pages of documentary evidence.
The delay has fueled frustration on both sides, with each camp blaming the other for slowing down proceedings ahead of the Senate Secretariat’s scheduled release of the pre-trial order on June 25.
Speaking to reporters, defense lawyer Mark Vinluan claimed the House prosecution’s private lawyers lacked sufficient personnel to speed up the marking of exhibits related to the Articles of Impeachment, which include allegations involving the misuse of confidential funds and unexplained wealth.
“Actually, I was there personally. And the opposite is true. It was actually the private prosecutors who lacked a certain personnel for the marking of the exhibits,” Vinluan said.
He also took a swipe at the House prosecutors, alleging that some members of the public prosecution panel were not present throughout the day.
“Siguro hindi lang naintindihan masyado ni Representative Luistro ito kasi hindi naman sila nagpa-participate buong araw,” Vinluan said, referring to lead prosecutor Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro.
“So they just appear in the morning and then they leave and then they leave the rest of the task to the private prosecutors who are handling the case,” he added.
The House prosecution panel quickly pushed back against the allegation.
Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon, one of the lead prosecutors, denied that members of the prosecution team were leaving the proceedings early, saying he had remained at the Senate until the close of the conference on multiple occasions.
“Hindi po totoo yun. Sa ikatlong araw nandito ako hanggang dulo. Nung first day, ako rin ang nagsara ng pagpupulong. Kahapon nandito rin ako nung dulo. So hindi yun totoo,” Ridon said.
Ridon also noted that Duterte’s lead defense counsel, lawyer Sheila Sison, was absent from Tuesday’s proceedings.
“More importantly, hinanap ko si Sheila Sison. Wala naman siya ngayong araw na ito. What are they actually talking about again?” he said.
According to Ridon, the delays stem not from a shortage of lawyers but from the sheer volume of evidence that must be individually marked and cataloged.
“Hindi ko palalampasin yun. Kung nandito public prosecutors, parang bibilis ata? It’s not a manpower question. It’s a volume question,” he said.
“It was never a question of a lack of prosecutors, whether public or private participating in the marking. So hindi ko alam saan hinugot ng defense panel yang bagay na yan,” he added.
Ridon also pointed to the defense panel’s decision to separately mark pieces of evidence common to both parties, saying the move further prolonged the process.
The back-and-forth between the two camps has underscored growing tensions as preparations continue for the Senate impeachment trial.
The pre-trial conference is set to resume for a fourth day on Wednesday, one day before the Senate Secretariat is expected to issue the pre-trial order.—Politiko.com.ph
