Senate impeachment court to issue VP Duterte pre-trial order on June 29

The Senate impeachment court is expected to release the pre-trial order in the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, June 29, after five days of pre-trial proceedings.

Senate Secretary and Senate impeachment court clerk Renato Bantug Jr. said work on the document is already underway, with Senate personnel expected to spend the weekend finalizing it.

“Sinisimulan na namin ngayon ang draft ng pre-trial order and may nilabas na parang advisory memorandum si Senate President [Sherwin Gatchalian] kagabi sa mga senators that we will issue the pre-trial order on Monday,” Bantug told reporters in a phone interview.

The pre-trial order will serve as the framework for the impeachment proceedings, incorporating agreements and positions reached by both the House prosecution panel and Duterte's defense team on matters such as the facts of the case, witnesses, documentary evidence and the trial schedule.

According to Bantug, copies of the order will first be furnished to both parties, who will have until Wednesday, July 1, to submit any comments before the document is finalized.

“Kaya naman matapos lahat before July 6. Yung mga corrections naman dyan, mainly I would suppose formal, hindi naman siguro magiging substantive because we will try to be as accurate as we can,” he said.

“Of course, yung sa mga marking, we will endeavor, sisikapin namin na walang mali doon, na walang inaccuracy. But sa dami noon, kailangan ma-review din nang husto yung mga pre-mark evidence,” he added.

The pre-trial conference began on June 18 and concluded on June 25 after five session days, during which thousands of documentary pieces of evidence were pre-marked for use in the trial.

The impeachment trial itself is scheduled to begin on July 6.

Bantug said hearings will initially be held every Monday to Wednesday at 2 pm until President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s fifth State of the Nation Address on July 27. After the SONA, the trial schedule will shift to Tuesdays through Thursdays, also at 2 pm.

Duterte is facing impeachment charges that include culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust and other high crimes.

The Senate formally convened as an impeachment court on May 18. Duterte's legal team later filed its answer to the Articles of Impeachment on June 1, asking the court to dismiss the case.

-Paraluman News