The House prosecution panel has admitted it cannot complete the pre-trial conference, particularly the marking of evidence by the July 25 deadline for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, and is now seeking an extension of the process.

As of Tuesday, June 23, the marking of documentary evidence remains unfinished due to the sheer volume of documents the prosecution has prepared. These include evidence under the article on alleged misuse of confidential funds, which alone carries around 4,000 documentary exhibits, as well as the article on the Vice President's alleged unexplained wealth.

The pre-trial conference is currently scheduled to run until June 25.

House Lead Prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro said the prosecution has already reached out to Senate Secretary Bantug through Secretary-General Cheloy Garafil to explore ways to speed up the marking process.

"The prosecutors have expressed their uncertainties as to whether the marking will be finished by Thursday. And that's why we already reached out to Sec. Bantug through SecGen Cheloy Garafil whether there are other measures which may considered to be able to expedite more the marking of the exhibits."

The process has also been slowed down by the defense team's insistence on having its own separate marking of the same exhibits. Luistro explained that this effectively doubles the time spent on each document.

"We understand that the defense is soliciting marking of separate documents which means, parehas ang exhibits naming, nevertheless the position of the defense is to have their own marking in a separate set of document. So you can imagine how time consuming is this, magkakaroon ng comparison of documents before marking, one for the prosecution, and next for the defense."

Among the proposals the House prosecution team is bringing before the Senate Impeachment Court are: a two-day extension of the pre-trial conference to run until Saturday, June 27, and the doubling of marking teams from the current four to eight.

Manila 3rd District Representative and House prosecution panel member Joel Chua acknowledged the difficulty of the workload.

"Medyo mahaba po, maraming document kaya nga po kami ay humihingi ng karagdagang araw at tsaka kung papayagan din kami additional team."

("It is quite lengthy, there are many documents, which is why we are requesting additional days and, if permitted, an additional team.")

However, both proposals still require the agreement of the defense team and approval from the Impeachment Court.

Despite the delays, the prosecution remains confident that the July 6 start of the trial proper is still on track.

"We remain confident at umaasa naman kami na kung wala naman pong magiging aberya, tuloy-tuloy lamang po ang marking ng ebidensya."

("We remain confident and we hope that if there are no disruptions, the marking of evidence will continue smoothly.")

Luistro further explained that if the defense agrees to a joint marking of common exhibits under a single document, the time spent could be cut in half.

"Kasi ang nangyari doon, separate yung presentation and marking for the prosecution. Papakita kay defense, patatatakan sa impeachment court, pipirmahan ng prosecution defense at saka ng impeachment court. So yung prosesong yun, uulitin mo ulit pagdating doon sa defense, notwithstanding the fact that you are talking about exactly the same document. So nadoble yung time. So if they will agree na isang document lang, ibig sabihin isang examination lang, isang pirmahan lang, so that will be, as to the time which will be spent, it will be diminished by half the time which is actually being spent when marking common exhibit but separate documents."

("Because what happened there, separate was the presentation and marking for the prosecution. It will be shown to the defense, stamped at the impeachment court, signed by the prosecution, defense, and the impeachment court. So that process, you repeat it again when you get to the defense, notwithstanding the fact that you are talking about exactly the same document. So the time doubled. So if they will agree on just one document, that means just one examination, just one signing, so that will be, as to the time which will be spent, it will be diminished by half the time which is actually being spent when marking common exhibits but in separate documents.")

Meanwhile, the prosecution team also intends to raise additional requests before the Senate Impeachment Court, including the disclosure of witnesses three days before their presentation, the participation of both public and private prosecutors in witness presentations, the possible opening of BIR records at the earliest opportunity, and the discussion of the conviction threshold, a proposal raised by the defense, which Lead Prosecutor Luistro said she is open to taking up when the Impeachment Court reconvenes or before the presentation of evidence.

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