Baste Duterte seeks more time to prepare for Sara impeachment trial appearance

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Davao City Mayor Sebastian "Baste" Duterte on Monday asked for more time to prepare the necessary documents for his appearance before the Senate impeachment court.

In a letter sent to the Senate impeachment court, the Davao City mayor said he would appear on September 29 to 30 as provided in the subpoena issued to him amid the ongoing impeachment trial of his sister, Vice President Sara Duterte.

"We are in receipt of a letter from Mayor Sebastian Duterte of the City of Davao dated today, requesting that, among others, he be given time, as he requires substantial time to gather, organize, authenticate, and reproduce the subpoena documents, and asks that he be allowed to attend instead of today, tomorrow, and on Wednesday, for him to be allowed to attend on September 29 and 30, that is tomorrow and on Wednesday, which is already covered by the subpoena issued to him," Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero read the letter.

Escudero immediately granted Duterte's request.

It can be recalled that the impeachment court reset the appearances of Duterte and two others to September 28 to 30 following a conflict in schedule the previous week.

The Senate impeachment court is tackling Article 2 of the Articles of Impeachment, which specifically alleges that the Vice President accumulated unexplained wealth through the following:

• failure to fully and truthfully disclose all her and her spouse's assets, liabilities, and net worth in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN), including in her SALN for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024; and
• failure to divest, and instead, willfully continued all her business interests during her tenure as vice president for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Former Sandiganbayan presiding justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang was earlier invited to the trial, wherein she testified that a public official's acquisition of unexplained wealth can be a ground for removal from office.

The House prosecution panel earlier said the Davao City mayor could speak about Gencorp Industries, Inc., a firm linked to the Vice President. —AOL, GMA News