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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Prosecution files pre-trial brief on VP Duterte trial, but Garafil keeps contents close to her chest

Prosecution files pre-trial brief on VP Duterte trial, but Garafil keeps contents close to her chest

Published Jun 15, 2026 08:14 pm

At A Glance

  • The House prosecution panel files its 57‑page pre‑trial brief on June 15, submitting it to the Senate impeachment court.
  • The document contains stipulations of fact, evidence, and a witness list expected to exceed 30 names.
  • Eleven House prosecutors and 10 private lawyers will attend the June 18 pre‑trial conference.
House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil (Facebook)
House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil (Facebook)


The House prosecution panel filed on late Monday afternoon, June 15 its 57-page pre-trial brief--arguably its most important pleading in the upcoming Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil filed the pleading on behalf of the 11-member prosecution team led by House Committee on Justice Chairperson and Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro.
The document was officially submitted to the Senate impeachment court at 5:20 p.m. Monday.
“We filed 29 copies of the legal brief, which is more than enough copies for all senators, 24 of them,” Garafil, a lawyer, told reporters. The senators will sit as judges of the court and decide on Duterte's fate.
The prosecution panel also submitted the entries of appearance of the 10 private lawyers who will assist the House prosecutors during the impeachment proceedings.
The most intriguing part of the pre-trial brief is the prosecution panel's list of witnesses, which according to reports could reach over 30 individuals. However, Garafil kept a tight lid on this as well as other details of the pleading.
“With respect to the contents of the brief, I’m not authorized to speak about it,” she said.
The pre-trial brief includes proposed stipulations of fact and list of witnesses and documentary evidence that the prosecution intends to present before the Senate impeachment court.
The filing comes days before the court’s scheduled pre-trial conference on June 18 between the prosecution and defense teams.
House lead prosecutor Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro said earlier Monday that the prosecution team would attend the conference at full force.
“Of course, we are anticipating na (that) on June 18, the 11 prosecutors, together with the 10 private prosecutors who were introduced during the last press conference, ay mag-aattend doon sa (will make an appearance before the) impeachment court,” Luistro said.
The House prosecution panel is also composed of Reps. Terry Ridon (Bicol Saro Party-list), Ramon Rodrigo “Rodge” Gutierrez (1-Rider Party-list), Ysabel Maria Zamora (San Juan City lone district), Lorenz Defensor (Iloilo, 3rd district), Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno (Akbayan Party-list), Leila de Lima (Mamamayang Liberal Party-list), Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao (Dinagat Islands lone district), Jonathan Keith Flores (Bukidnon, 2nd district), Lordan Suan (Cagayan de Oro, 1st district) and Joel Chua (Manila, 3rd district).
Joining them are 10 private lawyers from PECABAR Law, Kapunan and Castillo Law Offices, and the Sapayan Lim Alvarez & Ligutan (SALiGAL) Law who agreed to assist the House prosecution panel on a pro bono basis, or for free.

Related Tags

IMPEACHMENT prosecution Sara Duterte Cheloy Garafil SENATE Pre-trial brief
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