The anticipated scrutiny of Vice President Sara Duterte’s bank, tax and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) records would have to take a back seat when the Senate Impeachment Court resumes the trial this week.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian (Senate PRIB photo)

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said the Impeachment Court will first finish hearing all testimonies under Article 1 which pertains to the vice president’s alleged misuse of confidential funds.

All bank, tax and AMLC records that were submitted to the Senate starting Thursday last week, are all part of Article 2, which deals with Duterte’s unexplained wealth.

“These (bank, tax records) actually pertains to Article 2; right now, we are on Article 1, which concerns the confidential funds,” Gatchalian said in an interview on Radio DZBB on Sunday, August 2.

“And this week, the two COA (Commission on Audit) auditors involved in auditing the confidential funds have been summoned. So, these tax records are actually for Article 2—dealing with unexplained versus explained wealth. We will first finish Article 1, regarding the confidential funds. Once the prosecution has presented the case for Article 1, we will move on to Article 2,” the Senate chief said.

Earlier, House prosecutor Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said the Senate impeachment court granted the prosecution’s request to summon two COA auditors—former Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (ICFAO) state auditor Roderick Wamil and incumbent ICFAO supervising auditor Celine May Del Campo—as its next witnesses beginning Aug. 3.

Also subpoenaed by the Court is House Legislative Information Resources Management Department Director Marivic Pareja and is scheduled to testify after the two auditors.

Gatchalian said he is confident that the pace of the impeachment trial of the vice president will eventually move quicker in the next few days, especially if the prosecution’s witnesses this week are able to present solid and credible evidence that would prevent them from calling other witnesses.

“It depends on the prosecution's strategy. Right now, the ball is in the prosecution's court. It hinges on the evidence they present—specifically, whether they have such solid evidence that other witnesses become unnecessary,” Gatchalian said.

“The process is taking this long because of the sheer number of witnesses—over a hundred—plus the volume of documents. In other words, things are moving slowly because only one witness is heard per day; sometimes, a single witness takes two days, depending on their testimony. However, if the evidence presented turns out to be strong, I think they might reduce the number of witnesses,” the Senate chief pointed out.

Gatchalian noted that the prosecution did exactly that when they tackled Article IV of the impeachment complaint, which pertains to Duterte’s grave threats against President Marcos and members of his family.

“They decided not to call five of the scheduled witnesses because they felt the testimonies they had already secured were sufficient,” he pointed out.

Gatchalian admitted that the ongoing impeachment trial is hindering the Upper Chamber from fully concentrating on their legislative mandate.

“It’s a major issue. We are currently finalizing schedules this week, and it has a significant impact, especially regarding the physical layout of the Senate. The Senate space is limited, and the impeachment proceedings have already taken up almost all the available rooms,” the Senate leader lamented.

Another complication he said, involves the holding of Commission on Appointments (CA) hearings saying “there is simply no room left for them.”

“Since the Commission on Appointments—as we recall—meets every Wednesday, they usually require three or four rooms in addition to the plenary hall, but now there are no rooms available. So, one of the arrangements we are making for the CA is to hold their meetings at the PICC (Philippine International Convention Center), while returning to the Senate for the plenary session. We are dealing with complications like that,” he said.