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The House prosecution panel on Saturday confirmed that it had filed its formal offer of evidence in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, days before the October 23 deadline.
“We already filed ‘yung ating formal offer of evidence. Kung hindi ako nagkakamali, Miyerkoles. This is days before the deadline,” House prosecution spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers said at a news forum.
(We already filed our formal offer of evidence on Wednesday, if I’m not mistaken.)
Barbers said the defense would have 10 days to comment on the prosecution’s formal offer before the Senate impeachment court rules on the admissibility of the evidence.
He said the formal offer included all documentary evidence and witness testimonies presented by the prosecution in support of Article 2 of the impeachment complaint, which alleges that Duterte accumulated unexplained wealth through assets not declared in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
Barbers expressed confidence that the prosecution could secure a conviction.
“Honestly, ang pakiramdam namin, we are confident that we can secure a conviction. Bakit? Doon po sa aming mga nailatag na ebidensiya, matibay at malakas po ang aming paniwala na itong mga ebidensiyang ito ay sumusuporta sa aming alegasyon na merong hindi maipaliwanag na yaman ang ating Pangalawang Pangulo. At merong mga nalabag na probisyon sa Saligang Batas at merong nalabag na mga batas ang ating Pangalawang Pangulo,” he said.
(Honestly, we are confident that we can secure a conviction. Why? Based on the evidence we have presented, we firmly believe that it supports our allegation that the Vice President has unexplained wealth and has violated provisions of the Constitution and other laws.)
The House prosecution panel had initially been allotted 62 trial days to present its evidence but used only 39 days before resting its case on October 13.
The panel had earlier dropped three other articles of impeachment: Article 1, which concerned confidential funds; Article 3, which alleged bribery; and Article 4, which accused Duterte of making grave threats against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his family. — VBL, GMA News