The House prosecution may no longer present evidence for Article III, which involves alleged bribery, if it runs out of time before the Senate impeachment court’s scheduled one-month break in October, House private prosecutor Atty. Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. said.
In an interview with DZRH’s Isyung Pambayan on Sunday, Tolosa said the prosecution is aiming to complete its presentation of evidence before the impeachment trial goes on break in the middle of October.
He said the decision on whether to proceed with the presentation of evidence for Article III would depend on the pace of the proceedings and the time remaining before the break.
"Isa po 'yan sa mga possibilities at mayroon naman hong right o option na gawin 'yan kung ipepresenta po o hindi na. Nasa prosecution naman po yan," Tolosa said.
"Pero hindi pa naman final yun as of today, yung decision na 'yon kasi madami pang mga bagay na we're considering tulad nung timeline," he added.
The prosecution has previously said it would avoid presenting witnesses or evidence that are merely repetitive or cumulative in an effort to speed up the trial.
Tolosa earlier explained that prosecutors had already dropped several witnesses after determining that their testimonies were no longer necessary because the same matters had been sufficiently covered by evidence already presented.
The impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte covers four articles, including allegations involving misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery, and grave threats.
Tolosa has said the prosecution intends to present evidence necessary to establish its allegations while avoiding unnecessary testimony that could further prolong the proceedings.
The Senate impeachment court is expected to go on a one-month break in October, after which the trial will resume based on the court’s schedule.
