Senate Races to Keep VP Sara Impeachment Trial on Track for July 6

Pre-Trial Order Faces Firm Release Window

The pre-trial order must come out early next week to keep the overall calendar intact. Bantug noted that the defense and prosecution teams must finish the marking of evidence by Thursday, June 25, at the latest. Any delay past that point would push the order beyond the approved timeline and compress the remaining steps before trial.

July 6 Start Date Holds Despite Pressure

Bantug stressed that the July 6 opening remains possible even as the pretrial conference runs longer than planned. "While it may be difficult on the part of the court, on the part of the staff, at this point, July 6 as the start of the trial proper is not yet an impossibility. Tight but not impossible," he said. The original schedule had allowed only two days for the conference, yet the process has already entered a fourth day.

Evidence Marking Extends Beyond Original Plan

The defense and House prosecution teams are still marking sets of evidence for Article I, which accuses Duterte of misusing confidential funds, and Article II, which pertains to her alleged unexplained wealth. Bantug said the teams were expected to complete the task by June 25 so the pre-trial order could follow without further slippage.

Four Thousand Documents Slow Article I Review

Article I alone contains 4,000 documentary pieces of evidence. Bantug earlier cited the sheer volume of documents as the main reason the marking process has stretched past its original two-day schedule. This volume has forced the pretrial conference into additional days and created the current tight window for the pre-trial order.

Teams Receive Three-Day Comment Period

Once the pre-trial order is issued, both the defense and prosecution teams will have three days to submit comments. Bantug explained that this step is required under the approved calendar and must occur before the trial proper can begin on July 6.

Calendar Adjustments Hinge on Thursday Completion

Bantug warned that failure to finish marking by June 25 would prevent the pre-trial order from being released on time. "Supposing that we end tomorrow, what may happen is that we may not be able to release the pre-trial order by tomorrow, because per the approved calendar that was released before, we were supposed to also issue the pre-trial order," he said. The outcome now rests on whether the teams meet the Thursday deadline. By Bella Reyes, Staff Writer.