Members of the House prosecution panel stated on Saturday, October 3, 2026, that they will respect any target schedule set by the Senate impeachment court to decide the trial of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, including a proposed target date of December 16.
Bicol Saro Party-list Representative Terry L. Ridon, a member of the prosecution panel, addressed earlier remarks made by impeachment court spokesperson Reginal Tongol, who indicated that the tribunal aims to render a verdict by December 16 before Congress enters its mandatory Christmas recess.
“So ‘yung December 16, well I think kung kaya mas maaga pa, I think it will be better for everyone. Pero…kung ‘yan ang hard date nila to actually decide on it, it is something we will respect bilang bahagi ng prosecution,” Ridon said.
Ridon noted that while setting a target date provides procedural structure, the actual timeline for a final decision will depend heavily on the pace of evidence presentation from both sides and the deliberation time required by senator-judges.
“It’s not a definite target. Ultimately naman, it will be dependent on how fast we can actually finish our presentation of evidence and how fast the defense can actually present their own sets of evidence at ‘yung panahon para makapagpasya ‘yung Senate impeachment court,” Ridon explained.
House legal spokesperson and private prosecutor Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. emphasized that while prosecutors cannot control the speed of defense arguments, they are actively taking steps to streamline their own evidence presentation.
“Ang intention namin matapos na yan at least before the start of the one-month break on Oct. 15 to Nov. 15. Pero siyempre yung presentation ng defense, that’s something we cannot control kung gano sila kabilis,” Tolosa noted during the Saturday News Forum.
Tolosa added that prosecution teams have aggressively consolidated witness lists across various articles of impeachment—including charges concerning alleged grave threats, misuse of confidential funds, and unexplained wealth—to prevent trial delays in deference to public sentiment.
“At least sa amin sa prosecution nakikita natin talagang yung efforts namin from the start, pinapabilis talaga natin. Magmula sa grave threats hanggang sa confidential funds, we aggressively trimmed down the list of witnesses para mapabilis dahil narinig natin ‘yung sentemyento ng publiko na gusto natin as much as possible pabilisin ‘yung trial,” Tolosa said. “That’s also what we intend to do dito sa usapin ng unexplained wealth. But pagdating na oras na para sa defense mag-presenta ng evidence, we hope walang delay at mapabilis rin.”
Tolosa also referenced recent comments from Senator-judge Francis Pangilinan, who clarified that the full impeachment court has not officially voted on or fixed a binding decision deadline.
“I think he mentioned mukhang it’s not, or at least it has not yet been discussed internally. So maybe it was just opinion or suggestion siguro but not a fixed thing,” Tolosa said.