The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte has formally withdrawn Dean Ralph Sarmiento from its list of witnesses in her impeachment trial, while the Senate Impeachment Court has rescheduled the appearance of another defense witness due to a medical examination.

Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero said Monday that the defense, in a Nov. 5 manifestation, withdrew Sarmiento as a witness and requested the recall of the subpoena previously sought for him.

Escudero clarified, however, that the court had not issued any subpoena for Sarmiento, making its withdrawal unnecessary.

Meanwhile, the court granted the defense's request to move the testimony of Atty. Suzette Balucanag-Punay from Nov. 9 to Nov. 10 after the defense informed the court that she would undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination on Monday and could not attend the hearing.

Balucanag-Punay had been scheduled to appear as the defense's first witness.

The court also acknowledged the defense's Nov. 7 manifestation identifying witnesses scheduled to testify from Nov. 9 to 13, along with the purposes of their testimonies.

Escudero said the court would issue subpoenas for Atty. Anel Martin S. Antero, Chadrin Parian and Vimar M. Barcellano, who are scheduled to appear during the same period.

The presiding officer also noted that an order governing the classification of exhibits submitted by the prosecution and the corresponding access to those documents had been issued on Nov. 6. Copies were furnished to the parties and senator-judges.