The impeachment court is considering extending the daily hours of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial by one to two hours to make up for proceedings canceled because of inclement weather, its spokesperson said Wednesday.
Impeachment Court spokesperson Atty. Regie Tongol said extending the trial beyond its usual schedule remains an option being considered by the senator-judges, the presiding officer and Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero.
The court previously extended proceedings by one hour, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., to allow the prosecution to finish the testimony of Commission on Audit auditor Xylene Mae del Campo.
Tongol said the senator-judges are considering extending the trial to 4 or 5 p.m. rather than moving proceedings from the morning to the afternoon.
“The presiding officer and the Senate president has already talked about that,” Tongol said during an online press briefing Wednesday.
However, Tongol said any adjustment to the trial schedule must take into account constitutional provisions governing the Senate’s session hours.
“However, mayroong mga constitutional duties na kailangan tuparin dyan,” he said, noting that the Constitution specifies when the Senate should be in session.
He said the matter is “very technical” but could still be implemented if the senator-judges are given enough leeway.
Tongol stressed that the senator-judges have yet to make a final decision on extending the trial hours.
He also said the cancellation of trial days because of bad weather could strengthen the argument of those senator-judges who favor holding longer proceedings in the afternoon.
The impeachment trial has been repeatedly affected by inclement weather, including disruptions caused by the southwest monsoon and tropical cyclones.
Tongol described the weather-related cancellations as fortuitous events beyond the court’s control, saying no one wanted the disruptions to happen.
Aside from weather-related cancellations, Tongol said the trial has also been affected by lengthy testimonies from prosecution witnesses.
Some witnesses have taken at least three days to complete their testimony because of cross-examinations and other procedural requirements, despite the court’s expected one-witness-per-day schedule.
