The House prosecution panel recognizes public impatience with the pace of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte and says it will continue working to expedite the proceedings and bring the case to a conclusion.
House trial spokesperson and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said the panel of prosecutors has been mindful of public sentiment regarding the impeachment trial and has taken steps to speed up the proceedings.
“Nakita ko na because mahaba yung ating trial ay nagkaroon ng sort of dissatisfaction ng ating publiko. That’s why isa yun sa mga naging naging acknowledgement ng prosecution that the court, the impeachment trial, should not, as much as possible, ma-drag ng unnecessarily sa tagal ng itong trial na ito,” Alonto Adiong said.
Alonto Adiong noted that the prosecution had withdrawn three of the four articles of impeachment to expedite the proceedings, a move he said would benefit all parties.
“Kasi karapatan din naman ng respondent for a speedy trial. So, this would give us an idea of how we should go about with the presentation coming from the defense because we expect the defense would be presenting their case,” he said.
“The prosecution has actually only needed one conviction in one article, and that would be sufficient for the removal of the vice president. So we don’t need to actually tackle the other three articles that would result in extending the impeachment trial dates,” Alonto Adiong also said.
Beyond public sentiment, Alonto Adiong said the prosecution’s primary motivation is to hold public officials accountable, including the vice president.
Alonto Adiong said the evidence presented by the prosecution allegedly shows a culpable violation of the Constitution, particularly in connection with the vice president’s declared income and assets in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs).
“We are also concerned [with] how we can actually provide evidence that would prove the allegations in terms of accountability in holding the vice president to account. So, yun yung pinaka na premise ng prosecution at focus ng ating prosecution sa ngayon. So, this is the thing that we are actually focused on, holding the vice president to account,” Alonto Adiong also added.