Joselito Malig

Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial to start July 6, House lead prosecutor says

Article (news)

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATE</strong>) — Vice President Sara Duterte&#x27;s impeachment trial is &quot;confirmed&quot; to start on July 6th, according to lead House impeachment prosecutor Gerville Luistro, citing pronouncements made during the Thursday pre-trial conference.</p><p>This date is consistent with the schedule being eyed by the Senate under its previous leadership.</p><p>The prosecution hopes Duterte will appear in her trial to enter her plea before the Senate impeachment court, ahead of the presentation of evidence, Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, one of the spokespersons of the House prosecution team, said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/19/bato-as-fugitive-makes-15-votes-enough-to-impeach-vp-duterte-expert-1058">Bato as &#x27;fugitive&#x27; makes 15 votes enough to convict VP Duterte—expert</a></div><p>But Luistro said that the trial will proceed whether or not Duterte or her lawyers appear before the court. </p><p>Their potential absence from the proceedings will be &quot;deemed as entry of not guilty,&quot; the lawmaker said.</p><p>Unlike the closed-door pre-trial conference, Luistro said the trial proper will be open to the media and the public, as required by the Senate Rules.</p><p>Impeachment trials have historically been broadcasted and covered extensively by the media &quot;due to the exceptional character of the proceeding,&quot; UP College of Law&#x27;s impeachment primer noted.</p><div> </div><div><strong>PRESIDING OFFICER</strong></div><div> </div><p>Luistro meanwhile expressed &quot;faith and confidence&quot; in whoever the Senate impeachment court appoints as presiding officer.</p><p>Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday claimed that the majority bloc would elect Sen. Francis Escudero as presiding officer of Duterte&#x27;s impeachment trial.</p><p>Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian however told a news conference Thursday that the Senate has yet to discuss who will preside over the trial.</p><p>Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio is wary of Escudero leading the trial, saying senators should not elect someone who &quot;delayed&quot; the proceedings.</p><p>Escudero, in the 2025 impeachment case of Duterte, was criticized for supposedly &quot;delaying&quot; the Senate proceedings despite the Constitution mandating senators to proceed to trial &quot;forthwith.&quot;</p><p>&quot;My position there is they should elect someone who has not favored the non-holding of the impeachment proceedings kasi sabi ni Chiz na ‘forthwith’ doesn’t mean kaagad,&quot; Carpio said during a forum on Friday.</p><p>&quot;Forthwith, we can delay this. I mean, bakit niya dinelay?&quot; Carpio asked. &quot;I think we should put somebody there who has not made that kind of position.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>LUISTRO CONFIRMS &#x27;ARGUMENTS&#x27; IN PRE-TRIAL MEET</strong></div><div> </div><p>The pre-trial conference on Duterte’s impeachment case will resume on Monday to continue the marking of evidence for the articles on alleged unexplained wealth and confidential fund misuse.</p><p>The marking of evidence for the other two articles on alleged grave threats and bribery were completed Thursday, according to Adiong.</p><p>Luistro gave assurances that the House prosecution will attend the resumption of the pre-trial conference on Monday.</p><p>The prosecution and the defense &quot;exchanged arguments&quot; on several points during Thursday’s pre-trial conference, Luistro confirmed. </p><p>She noted that it was expected to happen between opposing parties in a trial.</p><p>&quot;Definitely marami kaming proposed stipulation na hindi nila i-a-admit. In the same way na marami silang proposed stipulation na hindi rin namin i-a-admit because our positions are completely opposite,&quot; she said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/18/pre-trial-conference-on-sara-duterte-impeachment-to-resume-monday-2240">Pre-trial conference on Sara Duterte impeachment to resume Monday, Poa says</a></div><p>For Adiong, what the the defense team did was &quot;to delay the trial, the pre-trial conference.&quot;</p><p>&quot;So andun pa rin yung attempt na hindi mapag-usapan or medyo ma-drag itong proseso na ito, which, of course, the prosecution panel will not agree to it,&quot; he said.</p><p>Other points of contention include whether attendees of the Thursday pre-trial conference had the necessary documents to prove that they represent either the Vice President or the House of Representatives, as well as the admission or denial of the stipulation of facts, witnesses, and documentary evidence.</p><p>&quot;I think in almost all, palaging may contentions. Again, the reason behind that is the position are completely opposite so we do not anticipate na palaging uniform ang position. More often than not, taliwas ang position ng prosecution at ng defense,&quot; Luistro said.</p><p>She noted though that parties appear to agree that the purpose of the pre-trial conference is to make the trial proper &quot;simple, expeditious, and fair.&quot;</p><p>The impeachment court directed both parties to submit their respective comments on the stipulation process by June 22nd. </p><p>After that, the matter will be submitted for resolution on June 25th.</p><p>Both the House prosecution and the defense also submitted their proposed number of trial dates, which will be decided upon by the Senate impeachment court.</p><div><strong>—With a report from Agatha Gregorio, ABS-CBN News</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BuEdemSHyQY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DCxmUN6HyXc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><strong></strong><br/></div>

<p>Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial is “confirmed” to start on July 6, according to Lead House Impeachment Prosecutor Gerville Luistro, citing pronouncements made during the Thursday pre-trial conference.</p>

Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial is “confirmed” to start on July 6, according to Lead House Impeachment Prosecutor Gerville Luistro, citing pronouncements made during the Thursday pre-trial conference.