The House prosecution team has requested the impeachment court to finally open the sealed box turned over by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), according to a Wednesday report by RH 28 Raymund Dadpaas.
This was included in the four manifestations submitted by the prosecution during the ongoing pre-trial conference for the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima pointed out that the court is now at the stage wherein relevant documents and evidence must be marked, entailing the disclosure of the information concealed within the box.
De Lima noted that even the House Justice Committee is in the dark as to the contents of the box, as it remained unopened during the House impeachment proceedings previously held to establish probable cause.
“That particular BIR box was transmitted to the Senate na naka-seal, hindi pa ‘yun nakita ng members of the Justice Committee. So since we are in the marking of the exhibits, this is the proper stage na kailangan na rin siguro buksan ‘yan para magkaroon ng inventory of contents of that particular BIR box,” she said, emphasizing that it would be more “efficient and expeditious” to do so.
Apart from this, among the manifestations put forth by the panel is the use of either Filipino or English during the trial so that the public may fully understand the charges and arguments presented in court.
Another proposed pre-trial measure is to allow both public and private prosecutors to examine witnesses.
Presenting new witnesses aside from those already included in the submitted list, as requested by the defense, has also been permitted, so long as all are informed of their appearance three days prior.
The prosecution panel will attempt to complete the marking of evidence for Articles One and Two of the impeachment complaint by tomorrow, June 25.
On the defense’s side, Duterte’s lawyer, Atty. Michael Poa confirmed that their camp has received a copy of the prosecution’s manifestation to unseal the BIR box.
For Poa, it would be best for the prosecution to await their formal response to the manifestation.
House lead prosecutor Batangas Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro said she was confident the pre-trial conference will conclude before the impeachment trial begins on July 6.
