Vice President Sara Duterte. INQUIRER FILE
MANILA, Philippines — House prosecutor and Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua said the House prosecution panel may not need to present all four Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte if one article is already strong enough to secure a conviction in the Senate impeachment trial.
Speaking at the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City, Chua said the prosecution’s strategy would depend on how the evidence is received during the proceedings, stressing that the panel’s goal is to prove what is necessary to establish accountability under the Constitution.
The House prosecution panel is currently preparing for the pretrial phase of the impeachment case. Earlier, prosecutors said they would file their pretrial brief on Monday, with the pretrial conference scheduled on June 18 and the trial proper set to begin on July 6.
The panel also previously said it filed a manifestation instead of a formal reply after describing Duterte’s answer to the impeachment complaint as a “non-answer” to the allegations.
Asked about the possible duration of the trial, Chua said the prosecution could decide not to pursue all four articles if it believes the evidence presented under one, two, or three articles is already sufficient to obtain a conviction.
“It depends because if we think that after one, two, or three articles, our evidence is already strong, then we no longer need to finish all four articles,” Chua said.
He emphasized that conviction on all four articles is not required.
“What we need is a conviction on one article,” Chua said.
“A conviction on all the articles is not necessary,” he added.
According to Chua, once a conviction is secured on a single article, the trial could effectively conclude.
“If she is convicted on just one article, then the trial is over,” he said.
Chua explained that the prosecution may opt to submit the case for a vote after presenting evidence on a single article if it believes the evidence is already compelling.
“If, for example, after presenting one article we believe the evidence is already strong, we can submit the case and no longer continue with the remaining three articles,” he said.
“We do not have to prove all four articles. If we believe the evidence under the first article alone is strong enough and that it can already lead to a conviction, then we may choose not to proceed with the others and allow the senators to vote on that article alone,” Chua added. /dm
