MANILA — The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte remains set to begin on July 6, with the marking of exhibits expected to be completed on Monday, according to House prosecution panel lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro.

Luistro said that the Senate impeachment court had already begun the pretrial conference on Thursday and is scheduled to resume proceedings on June 22, while preparations for the trial proper continue.

“So just to update, nag-start tayo kahapon ng marking of exhibits and hopefully matapos na this coming Monday. Kasi apat na articles of impeachment yan na ating isinampa. Iba ang documentary exhibits per article so ‘yung dalawang mahaba at marami, yan ang aming inihuli sa Monday (we started marking the exhibits yesterday and hopefully, we can finish this Monday. There were four articles of impeachment that we filed and each article has different sets of documentary evidence. We left the two longest articles with the most number of evidence for Monday),” she said.

“And then ang maliwanag kahapon, ang start talaga ng trial is July 6 at magtutuloy-tuloy na ‘yan (what was made clear yesterday was that July 6 will be the start of the trial, and that will definitely push through),” Luistro added.

The prosecution said the articles of impeachment involving public funds and alleged unexplained wealth contain the most extensive documentary evidence.

The House prosecution panel has identified more than 30 possible witnesses, while the defense team of Duterte has also submitted its own list of witnesses and documents during the pretrial stage.

Luistro stressed that despite the volume of witnesses on both sides, the key point is that the trial date remains fixed.

She said the remaining step in the pretrial process is the completion of exhibit marking and the issuance of the pretrial order, which will serve as the framework for the trial.

“In other words, ang purpose ng ating (the purpose of the) pre-trial conference is to simplify, to expedite, and to come up with a fair trial moving forward,” Luistro said.

“Parang ito ang blueprint, parang ito ang roadmap, parang ito ang order na susundan na natin (This serves as the blueprint, roadmap or order that we will follow) when we start the trial,” she added.

Luistro said the pretrial order will guide and limit the proceedings once the trial begins.

“As a matter of fact, bawal mag-deviate (it is prohibited to deviate) from the pre-trial order as a matter of rule,” she stressed.

She also explained that the pretrial conference helps identify stipulated facts and matters that still need to be proven during the trial.

“We call that stipulation of facts. The parties also submit their witness lists during pre-trial so the impeachment court can determine the hearing dates needed by both sides,” Luistro said.

Both parties may still request corrections or additions to the pretrial order if necessary, she added.

Duterte has denied the allegations against her, calling the case politically motivated.