Claims circulating online that one side “dominated” the recent impeachment pre-trial proceedings involving the case against Vice President Sara Duterte were dismissed by the House prosecution panel as inaccurate and misleading.
Those involved in the case said the narrative being shared on social media does not reflect what actually transpired during the June 18 pre-trial conference before the Senate impeachment court, stressing that the session was procedural in nature.
“There is no truth to that. That is fake news,” House lead prosecutor Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said, responding to posts alleging that the defense gained the upper hand during the proceedings.
The prosecution urged the public to be more discerning about online content as the case moves closer to trial, noting that premature conclusions about “victories” or “defeats” in pre-trial discussions are misplaced.
A prosecution spokesperson said the nature of pre-trial proceedings makes claims of one side prevailing structurally inaccurate, as the process does not involve rulings on the merits of the case.
“No one can say one side ‘won’ anything there. That is not how pre-trial works,” the official said, pointing out that no adjudication takes place at this stage.
The prosecution team maintained that its focus was procedural efficiency, saying it was able to ensure the orderly continuation of the conference and progress on the marking of documentary exhibits.
Officials also noted that discussions included an early attempt by the defense to raise threshold voting requirements, but said the matter was not entertained as a precondition to continuing pre-trial activities.
Despite such exchanges, prosecutors said they were able to complete the marking of evidence for multiple articles of impeachment and continue work on remaining exhibits.
The panel is currently finalizing documentary materials related to allegations involving confidential funds and unexplained wealth ahead of the formal start of trial proceedings on July 6.