Senate Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero on Wednesday, July 29, ruled that the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will proceed under its original order of evidence presentation after the prosecution and defense failed to reach an agreement on a proposed procedural change.

At the opening of the day's proceedings, Escudero announced that the court would retain the existing sequence, under which the House prosecution panel will first complete its presentation of evidence on all articles of impeachment before the defense begins presenting its case.

The ruling came after Escudero had floated the possibility of adopting an article-by-article presentation of evidence, in which the prosecution and defense would each present their respective cases on one impeachment article before moving to the next.

The proposal stemmed from a question raised by Senator-judge Paolo "Bam" Aquino IV during the trial on July 15. At the time, Escudero said the court would follow the procedure used during the 2012 impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona, in which prosecutors first presented evidence on all impeachment articles before the defense presented its evidence.

Last week, however, Escudero said he met with the lead prosecutor and Duterte's lead defense counsel to determine whether both parties would be willing to adopt the suggested alternate article-by-article approach.

The presiding officer said he had made it clear that the change could be implemented only if both the prosecution and the defense agreed.

Escudero said the House prosecution panel submitted its manifestation on July 27, while the respondent's camp filed its response on July 28.

"Based on your written manifestations, there is no agreement between the two parties," Escudero said.

With no mutual agreement, Escudero said the impeachment court would revert to its earlier ruling.

The House prosecution panel will continue presenting evidence on all impeachment articles it intends to pursue. Only after the prosecution rests its case will Duterte's defense begin presenting evidence on the remaining articles, consistent with the procedure followed during the Corona impeachment trial.

Escudero noted that during the Corona proceedings, the prosecution eventually withdrew some impeachment articles before the defense presented its evidence on the remaining charges.