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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Susulong na?': Impeachment proceedings ripe for pre-trial, says prosecution spox

'Susulong na?': Impeachment proceedings ripe for pre-trial, says prosecution spox

Published Jun 24, 2025 07:52 pm

At A Glance

  • The impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte must now move into the pre-trial stage, and shortly after that, the trial proper.
House prosecution panel spokesman Antonio Bucoy (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
House prosecution panel spokesman Antonio Bucoy (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)


The impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte must now move into the pre-trial stage, and shortly after that, the trial proper.
Thus, said lawyer Antonio Bucoy, spokesman of the House prosecution panel in a virtual press conference Tuesday, June 24.
Nasa stage na tayo [na] nakasagot na eh. OK? So ngayon dapat mag pre-trial na (We're at the stage that they've already answered. OK? So we should now hold the pre-trial), Bucoy said.
He was referring to the Duterte camp's submission on Monday of its answer ad cautelam to the Senate impeachment court. This was after the court ordered the impeached Duterte to answer within 10 days the articles of impeachment lodged by the House of Representatives.
In turn, the House prosecution panel is given five days to comment on the same answer. Bucoy said they can respond as early as Friday.
What's important is that the stage is now set for the pre-trial to begin. Bucoy explained why this was a key stage of the impeachment proceedings.
Bakit ho pre-trial? Kasi ho sa dami ho ng ebidensya namin, kinakailangang ipre-marking to eh. Markahan. Mahirap ho magmamarka habang nagta-trial. Aksaya ho ng panahon yan, he said.
(Why the pre-trial? Because the sheer volume of our evidence calls for pre-marking. Marking the evidence. It would be difficult to conduct marking in the middle of the trial. That’s a waste of time.)
Kaya ang gusto namin, magka pre-trial. Pagkatapos nung pre-trial, direcho na sa trial. Hingi na kami ng trial dates. Hihingi kami sa impeachment court na mag-set ng trial dates para talagang sumulong na ito. Yun ang aasahan namin, Bucoy further said.
(That’s why we're calling for a pre-trial. We go straight to the trial after the pre-trial. We will ask for trial dates. We will ask the impeachment court for trial dates so that we can really move this forward. That's what we're expecting.)
The House of Representatives--in particular the 11-person prosecution panel--has repeatedly aired their frustration over the length of time it has taken the Senate impeachment court to begin the Vice President's trial.
'Buhay na buhay ang articles of impeachment'
The seven articles of impeachment--contained in the impeachment complaint--were submitted by the House to the Senate way back on Feb. 5.
Bucoy countered a contention by Duterte in her ad cautelam that the articles of impeachment were nowhere to be found at the impeachment court.
“Ang articles of Impeachment ho ay nandyaan nasa impeachment court. Yung articles of impeachment ay inilakip dun sa writ of summons na isinerve sa kanya kaya siya nakasagot. Buhay na buhay ang articles of impeachment,” he said.
(The articles of impeachment are already there in the impeachment court. They were included in the writ of summons that was served to her, which is why she was able to respond. The articles of impeachment are very much alive.)
“Ngayon regardless of the defect nung answer dahil nga ad cautelam, hindi kinikilala ang hurisdiksyon ng impeachment court, we welcome this dahil uusad na tayo ngayon. Ang importante tumuloy tayo sa pre-trial, tumuloy tayo sa trial,” added the prosecution team mouthpiece.
(Now, regardless of the defect in the answer since it was made ad cautelam, and they're not recognizing the jurisdiction of the impeachment court, we welcome this because we can now move forward. What’s important is that we proceed to the pre-trial and then to the trial.)
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