Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)

Delaying Vice President Sara Duterte's Senate impeachment trial opens the door to possible tampering of theprosecution's evidence and desertion by witnesses out of fear. 

This was raised by Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua, one of the 11 House prosecutors in the much-awaited impeachment trial of the second highest-ranked official of the land. 

In a virtual press conference Friday, Chua was asked to comment on Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero's proposed timeline of the trial, which according to him would begin in earnest on July 30, 2025. 

This is right at the start of the upcoming 20th Congress and five months after the House's submission of the impeachment complaint to the Senate. 

"Alam po ninyo, siyempre tinitignan din po namin, yung mga ebidensya na nakalakap po namin ay yung tampering of evidence, isa po yan (You know, we're also looking at the possibilities, and one of them is the tampering of the evidence)," said Chua, a lawyer. 

"Pangalawa po, yung mga testigo po natin. Siyempre alam po natin baka mamaya, pag tumatagal eh medyo marami po dyan ang matakot (The second is about our witnesses. Later on, they might come a time when many of them would be scared to testify)," he explained. 

At any rate, Chua, chairman of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, said he respects the Senate President's remarks. 

But he made it clear that the prosecution team's stance was to begin the Senate impeachment trial against Vice President Duterte immediately. 

"Naiintindihan po namin ‘yung concern ni Senate President but at the end of the day this is a constitutional mandate, ito po ay obligasyon na ipinataw po sa atin ng bayan,” he said.