House lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro admitted she was taken aback by private prosecutor Atty. Erwin Matib’s sudden absence, although she assured that her team would adjust accordingly.

Luistro said she was only informed “recently” about Matib’s absence due to illness, prompting Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero to suspend the impeachment trial to give the prosecution time to regroup and ensure a proper presentation of its evidence.

“The notice was received only very recently. Kanina nga, I was being interviewed, and I was saying that we will be presenting the BIR, no? So it was only very recently that we were informed that he’s not well, and I need to get in touch with him to see the possibility of proceeding to the presentation,” she told reporters, adding that she would also like to learn the severity of his illness.

The lead prosecutor said the panel had not considered choosing a substitute for Matib, who is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and lawyer.

As a CPA-lawyer, Matib is the prosecution’s expert capable of clearly presenting a highly technical testimony involving documents procured from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

“Pag-uusapan namin sa team (ang substitution) because apparently BIR testimony will be very, very technical ano, and all fairness kay Atty. Erwin, he is a CPA-lawyer. We believe he is the one in the best position to do the presentation of this witness,” Luistro said.

House legal spokesman Atty. Jay Tolosa said Matib was trying to go to the Senate despite his condition so as not to waste the court’s time.

Matib is set to present the documents and question the prosecution’s witness from the BIR.