Prosecution drops bribery charge 'to meet timetable'

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The House prosecution panel in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial has dropped the bribery charge against her to meet its timetable for presenting evidence, panel member and Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores said Sunday.

“The only reason is the timetable. That’s really what we’re looking at. We want to finish this week because we’re about to go on a one-month break. We want the defense to begin after the break so the proceedings can continue smoothly,” Flores told Super Radyo dzBB.

Earlier this week, Flores announced that the prosecution had decided to drop Article III of the Articles of Impeachment, which contains the bribery allegations against Duterte, and informed the Senate Impeachment Court that it would conclude its presentation of evidence with Article II.

Flores told dzBB that the prosecution’s final witness would be lawyer Alexander Cabrera, a financial forensic analyst expected to tie together the tax and financial records of Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.

“So far, we believe the other articles have been sufficiently established and can stand on their own without the bribery article having to be tried before the impeachment court,” Flores said.

Flores added that the prosecution was preparing for the defense’s presentation of evidence.

The Senate Impeachment Court is currently hearing Article II of the Articles of Impeachment, which concerns Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth.

Article III, meanwhile, accuses the vice president of bribing officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure as education secretary from 2022 to 2024.

The prosecution had earlier raised the possibility of referring the bribery allegations to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Ombudsman for possible criminal proceedings.

“Kung kailangan, we will be making the necessary endorsement so that the Ombudsman or the DOJ can conduct the preliminary investigation for the possible filing of the case of bribery against respondent [Duterte] and officials [of] DepEd [Department of Education],” House lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro said during a news forum in Quezon City.— Mariel Celine Serquiña/MCG, GMA News

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