The House prosecution panel has agreed to a proposal to alternate the presentation of evidence between the prosecution and the defense on an article-by-article basis in Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial, although the Senate impeachment court is still awaiting the respondent's formal position.

Senate impeachment court spokesperson Atty. Regie Tongol said the prosecution had submitted a manifestation agreeing to the proposed sequence, under which the prosecution would first present its evidence on a specific impeachment article, followed immediately by the defense's evidence on the same article before the court proceeds to the next charge.

"They are agreeing to the alternating presentation of the prosecution and the defense on an article-per-article basis," Tongol said during a Zoom interview.

The proposed arrangement departs from the original sequence in which the prosecution would complete presenting evidence on all four impeachment articles before the defense begins its case.

Tongol, however, said the court has yet to receive any formal manifestation from Duterte's defense panel.

If the defense also agrees, he said Presiding Officer Francis Escudero may issue an order approving the new sequence, which could also lead to the cancellation of the next scheduled hearing on Article 1.

Under the proposed arrangement, the defense would instead begin presenting its evidence on Article 4 — which covers allegations of an assassination plot, grave threats, and inciting to sedition — after the prosecution completed its presentation on that charge.

"We still don't know if the presiding officer will cancel tomorrow's hearing if they agree today," Tongol said.

Tongol explained that unlike ordinary criminal proceedings governed by the Rules of Court, impeachment trials are sui generis, or unique proceedings, involving multiple impeachment articles rather than a single charge.

He said the proposal aims to balance efficiency and fairness while helping senator-judges evaluate each article more comprehensively.

One consideration, Tongol noted, is that hearing both sides' evidence on the same article consecutively would allow senator-judges to see the "whole picture" before moving on to the next allegation, rather than waiting until the prosecution finishes all four articles before hearing the defense.

He added that the change would not significantly affect the trial's overall timetable.

Article 1 alone is expected to take 31 trial days based on the parties' pre-trial submissions, but the total projected duration of the proceedings would remain at around 90 trial days because the number of days allotted to each side's presentation would stay the same.

Tongol also clarified that the proposed sequencing would not result in an earlier vote on the impeachment complaint.

Under the Senate impeachment rules, he said, the court must first hear evidence on all four impeachment articles before senator-judges deliberate and vote on each article and on the final question of conviction.