MANILA – The House prosecution panel said it agrees with Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s call for a faster impeachment trial but urged her defense team to likewise help prevent actions that could unnecessarily prolong the proceedings.

Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, spokesperson for the impeachment team, said that prosecutors have consistently supported an expedited trial while ensuring that both sides are given due process.

“Ang gusto talaga natin speedy. But ang sinasabi din po natin dito is ‘yung promptness and the speedy disposition of the court’s decision can go hand in hand with due process,” Alonto Adiong said during an online press briefing.

He said there would be no objection to speeding up the proceedings as long as doing so does not compromise either the prosecution’s or defense’s ability to present their respective cases.

“Wala naman pong problema doon as long as it will not definitely compromise the presentation of both panels, not only the prosecution panel but as well as the defense,” he added.

Duterte called Wednesday for the impeachment proceedings to move faster, saying a prolonged trial could leave the public questioning the truth of the allegations against her. She said she had left the proceedings in the hands of her defense team.

House prosecution legal spokesperson and counsel Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. said the prosecution shares Duterte’s objective of concluding the trial as quickly as reasonably possible.

“Doon sa pahayag niya, gusto niyang mapabilis, we don’t see any problem with that. Kaisa kami sa kagustuhan na matapos natin itong proseso na ito sa lalong mabilis na panahon,” Tolosa said.

He nevertheless said Duterte’s call for a speedy trial should also be communicated to her lawyers, citing instances during the proceedings where the defense’s actions or inaction had contributed to delays.

“Kung pareho kami ng kagustuhan pala, maganda din na iparating ito sa kanyang defense team,” he said.

Tolosa clarified that the prosecution was not accusing Duterte’s lawyers of intentionally delaying the case.

“We want to make it clear that we’ve never accused them of intentionally delaying the case,” Tolosa said.

He said, however, that there had been instances in which the defense’s actions or failure to act resulted in delays.

“But what we’ve stated is it cannot be denied. There are several instances already, no, where their inactions or inactions have led to delays.”

Among the issues cited by Tolosa were difficulties during the pretrial proceedings, including the defense’s refusal to compare documents with prosecutors.

He also pointed to the defense’s failure to meet with the prosecution to compare common exhibits before the intended testimony of Commission on Audit supervising auditor Xylene Mae del Campo.

“So kung pare-pareho natin gusto ‘to, then let’s all be on the same page, at maganda din na iwasan ang anumang bagay na makakapag-cause ng delay,” he said.

The prosecution had earlier raised concerns over the handling of thousands of confidential fund documents, saying the process of comparing the materials had slowed the presentation of evidence.

Prosecution drops witnesses to speed up trial

Alonto Adiong said prosecutors have also taken steps to reduce the length of the proceedings by removing witnesses whose testimonies would duplicate evidence already presented.

“This is an evidence na ang gusto talaga ng House prosecution panel, pabilisan din. Because we also do not want repetitive testimonies coming from various witnesses kasi it would only waste the time of the court,” he said.

Tolosa said this approach had already been applied to the article concerning Duterte’s alleged threats.

“We dispensed with more than half of our witnesses. After presenting three, we dispensed with I think five to six when we saw that there’s no more need for them,” he said.

The prosecution plans to apply the same principle when presenting evidence concerning Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds.

“We will not present evidence that are not absolutely necessary and will just be cumulative para pabilisin ang proseso,” he said.

Alonto Adiong said prosecutors would also comply with any measures adopted by the Senate impeachment court to make the proceedings more efficient.

“Whatever would be the decision of the court kung paano magkaroon ng speedy disposition and speedy trial, kami po ay sumusuporta doon,” he said.

He added that some recent interruptions to the proceedings were caused by bad weather and were outside the control of both the prosecution and defense.

The prosecution spokesperson said the panel would continue limiting its presentation to evidence and witnesses that are necessary to establish its case.

“Nakita naman po the way we presented our witnesses, talagang kung may nasabi or may mga ebidensya na na-present na hindi na kinakailangan pang balikan, hindi ho namin binabalikan,” he said.

“In fact, kami po ‘yung nagdi-delist ng mga witnesses na sa aming palagay ay hindi na kinakailangan pang ipresenta sa korte,” Alonto Adiong added.