Vice President Sara Duterte wants her impeachment trial to pick up the pace, although she is still not keen on personally showing up for the hearings.
The Vice President said the impeachment proceedings should be hastened, citing the constitutional guarantee of “a speedy administration of justice.”
According to Duterte, the longer the trial drags on, the longer the public will wonder whether the allegations against her are true.
“Ang gusto lang sana namin mapabilis yung proseso dahil hindi puwedeng tumatagal yung proseso natin na nag-iisip yung mga tao, ano ba totoo bang may ginawang masama. hndi ba totoo ang mga akusasyon,” she said in a media interview in Zamboanga City.
“So dapat mabilis ang process kasi nga di ba, sa ating Constitution, nandyan ‘yung speedy administration of justice,” she said.
Duterte, however, dismissed suggestions that the trial would move faster if she attended, saying she has a competent legal defense team doing the work.
“Hindi totoo ‘yun kasi fully represented ako nung ating defense team. Sufficient ‘yun na mayroon kang mga abogado doon na nagpa-participate sa process,” she said.
“‘Yun ay parang na rin ng pagdalo ng respondent doon sa impeachment,” she added.
Besides, Duterte admitted that she may not have much to contribute inside the courtroom.
“Dahil hindi naman ako abogado sa impeachment ko so walang akong matutulong sa process sa pag-present ng witness, cross-examine ng witness,” she said.
Duterte said she has full trust in her defense team in representing her in the proceedings.
The Senate impeachment court started the trial of Duterte on July 6, with Duterte skipping the proceedings.
The House prosecution has so far finished presenting evidence on the alleged Duterte’s grave threats against the President, and is now tackling the alleged confidential fund misuse.
The two remaining impeachment articles involve alleged bribery and procurement irregularities as well as alleged corruption and unexplained wealth.
