A House prosecutor said the prosecution panel does not need to prove all four Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, stressing that a conviction could be secured even on a single sufficiently strong charge.
Manila Rep. Joel Chua said the Senate impeachment trial may proceed on an article-by-article basis, with prosecutors focusing on presenting evidence that they believe is enough to establish accountability under the Constitution.
The House prosecution team is currently preparing for the pre-trial phase of the case, with earlier statements indicating that a pre-trial brief will be submitted on Monday, a pre-trial conference set for June 18, and the trial proper scheduled to begin on July 6.
The panel has also filed a manifestation instead of a formal reply after characterizing Duterte’s answer as a “non-answer” to the impeachment allegations.
Chua said the prosecution may decide not to present all four articles if evidence from one or more charges is deemed sufficient to support conviction.
“Depende po kasi kung sa tingin po namin, after two, one, two, or three articles, matibay na ’yung aming ebidensya, hindi na po namin kailangang tapusin ‘yung apat na articles,” he said.
He emphasized that conviction on all articles is not required under impeachment rules.
“So ang kailangan naman namin ay isang conviction sa article,” Chua said. “Hindi po kailangan conviction sa lahat ng articles.”
Chua added that once a conviction is secured on one article, the trial could effectively conclude.
“So isa lang doon, ma-convict po siya, tapos na po yung trial,” he said.
He also said the prosecution may opt to submit the case for voting if it believes the evidence presented under a single article is already sufficient.
“Kung sa tingin namin matibay na, puwede na po namin i-submit, hindi na po namin ituloy ‘yung tatlo pang articles,” he added.