MANILA, Philippines — The House prosecution panel is preparing to call more witnesses in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, with at least two OVP and Department of Education officials expected to be declared hostile witnesses.

The trial is set to resume after two consecutive hearing cancellations due to bad weather.

Prosecutors will first continue the direct examination of Gina Acosta, former special disbursing officer of the Office of the Vice President’s confidential funds. Her testimony will be followed by cross-examination from the defense team and questions from senator-judges.

Once Acosta’s testimony is completed, the prosecution is expected to call Edward Fajarda, former special disbursing officer of DepEd confidential funds, and Lemuel Ortonio, assistant secretary and assistant chief of staff of the OVP.

Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, a member of the House prosecution team, said they intend to ask the impeachment court to classify OVP and DepEd personnel who worked under Duterte as hostile witnesses.

Ridon said such a designation would allow prosecutors to use a more direct line of questioning and help expedite the proceedings.

The impeachment court, however, has the authority to determine whether a witness may be treated as hostile based on evidence showing that the witness has interests adverse to the party that called them.

Acosta was the first prosecution witness to be declared hostile in the trial.

Her testimony became significant to the prosecution after she said Duterte instructed her to release P125 million in confidential funds to Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, then chief security officer of the OVP.

Ridon described the testimony as one of the prosecution’s key pieces of evidence, saying it directly linked the Vice President to the release of the confidential funds.

Meanwhile, the House prosecution panel has expressed support for proposed changes to the impeachment trial schedule in an effort to speed up the proceedings.

Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua said the prosecution favors moving the hearings back to the afternoon, stressing the need to avoid further delays.

Among the adjustments being considered by senators is holding the trial from 2:30 PM to 7:30 PM., instead of the current 10 AM start.

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