MANILA— Defense lead counsel Sheila Sison on Thursday objected to what she called the prosecution’s “ultra-belated notice” seeking to change the order of its witness presentation in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Sison raised the objection during the 36th day of the impeachment proceedings after House prosecutor Terry Ridon asked the Senate impeachment court if the prosecution could present its forensic financial analyst before its Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) witness.

Ridon said the request was made because the lawyer assigned to present the BIR witness was ill.

Sison questioned whether the late notice gave the defense enough time to prepare for the financial analyst’s testimony.

“We don’t know if this belated notice, ultra-belated notice, will suffice to afford the respondent the opportunity to prepare for their supposed forensic financial analyst,” she said.

She also objected to the prospect of examining the witness on the same day the prosecution sought to change its presentation order.

“This is really unfair for the prosecution to just replace its witness at the last minute and expect us to examine that witness today,” she added.