Sara Duterte defense seen to end presentation within November: What next?

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The pace at which the defense panel of Vice President Sara Duterte is presenting its witnesses in her impeachment trial makes it likely that it will finish presenting its case before the end of November, the spokesman of the tribunal has said.

According to Sandra Aguinaldo's report on "24 Oras," the defense panel will have ten days to file its formal offer of evidence after it wraps up its presentation of witnesses. The prosecution will also have ten days to comment or file its opposition to the defense's case.

"Kung makikita natin sa bilis ng pagpepresenta ng mga witnesses po, ay nakaabot po tayo ng 3-4 witnesses in a day for the presentation for the defense. Ganun din po ‘yung ine-expect natin na time and motion na mangyayari sa mga succeeding hearing days,” Tongol said.

(Looking at the pace of the witness presentations, we have reached three to four witnesses a day for the defense's presentation. That is the same timeline and pace we expect to see in the succeeding hearing days.)

The court will then resolve on the formal offer and the comments within 10 days at most, according to the impeachment court spokesperson.

Verdict seen before Christmas

Atty. Paolo Panelo, Duterte’s spokesperson, explained why the Vice President’s camp expects the verdict to be handed down before the Christmas break.

“Ang sabi niya sa akin noon, ang parang pakay ng mga nagmamadali para habulin itong Christmas break ay para daw kung may conviction at magalit ‘yung mga tao, hindi sila makapag-express masyado ng galit nila dahil Pasko na at kung acquittal naman, eh di makakalimutan na sa susunod na taon, so ‘yun ang impormasyon na natanggap niya,” Panelo said.

(What she told me before was that the apparent motive of those rushing to beat the Christmas break is so that if there is a conviction and people get angry, they won't be able to express their outrage as much because it's already Christmas—and if it's an acquittal, it will simply be forgotten by next year. So that is the information she received.)

For its part, the prosecution said it also appears feasible to wrap up the impeachment proceedings before Christmas.

“We've been dwelling on this for three years already, and I think it's about time we put an end to this by witnessing the verdict as to whether it is conviction or acquittal at least before Christmas,” lead prosecutor Congressman Gerville Luistro said.

The next proceedings for Duterte’s impeachment trial are scheduled for November 19 to 20, after which the Senate will take a break from the trial to focus on the 2027 national budget.

The next trial day is expected to resume on December 1. –Lyjah Tiffany Bonzo/NB, GMA News