Atty. Michael Poa said on Wednesday that the prosecution’s withdrawal of witnesses holds no significance for the defense team, and that the move was entirely up to their counterparts’ discretion.

Poa said the time may come that they too, choose to drop witnesses from their roster.

“Sa akin naman po, wala (meaning). That is the prerogative of the prosecution. Pagdating din ng time ng defense, kami rin po ay baka mag-withdraw ng witnesses depending on how we think our case is going,” Vice President Sara Duterte’s legal counsel told reporters.

“So sa atin, we will just move on to prepare Article I. We have been preparing naman for quite some time,” he added.

Earlier on the same day, Lead Prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro told the impeachment court that the prosecution had decided to withdraw five witnesses, including a psychiatrist and a sheriff Duterte supposedly assaulted to evaluate the severity of her threats and attest to her inclination towards violence.

In a separate press conference, the House prosecutors said they did not wish to tire the Filipino people out with concurring testimonies backing Article IV: grave threats.

“Dahil sa ngayon, kumpleto na, at hindi na natin kailangan dagdagan pa. It’s unnecessary, it’s redundant, and ayaw din naming sabihin ng mga taong paulit-ulit na lang. Mahirap na magsawa ang mga tao at tsaka mawala ang kanilang atensyon kung nakuha na natin ang lahat ng dapat natin makuha,” prosecutor and Iloilo 3rd District Rep. Lorenz Defensor said.