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HOUSE PROSECUTION SEEKS VP SARA VERDICT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

admin November 14, 2026

THE House impeachment prosecution on Friday called for a verdict in Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s trial before Christmas to bring closure to the long-running controversy, rejecting claims that it was rushing the proceedings to soften public reaction to a possible conviction.

Lead prosecutor Batangas Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro said the prosecution wanted the Senate impeachment court to decide the case before the holidays, whether Duterte was convicted or acquitted.

“Sana naman bago mag-Pasko may verdict na regardless of whether it is conviction or acquittal,” Luistro said at a press briefing.

She was responding to Duterte spokesperson Paolo Panelo’s claim that those seeking an early verdict wanted a conviction announced during the Christmas season to minimize public anger.

“The way they are commenting to the possible conclusion before Christmas, parang sigurado na sila na conviction ito, di ba?” Luistro said.

She stressed that prosecutors had no advance knowledge of how the senator-judges would decide the case.

“Wala po kaming hint or information as to whether the senator-judges will be voting for conviction or acquittal,” she said.

Luistro said the country deserved a conclusion after years of congressional investigations and impeachment proceedings.

“It’s about time we let the people witness the result of this impeachment process,” she said.

She recalled that the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, then chaired by Manila Rep. Joel Chua, began investigating allegations involving confidential funds and bribery in 2024.

The investigations were followed by impeachment proceedings in 2025 and the ongoing Senate trial in 2026.

“We’ve been dwelling on this for three years already,” Luistro said.

She said the prosecution withdrew three of the four impeachment articles partly to shorten the trial, leaving only Article II, which involves allegations of unexplained wealth.

In the same press briefing, Chua also questioned why the defense would still need 30 trial days when only one impeachment charge remains.

“Kung titignan po natin doon sa pre-trial brief na kanila pong sinumite, ang hinihingi po nila ay 30 trial dates para po sa apat na article,” Chua, a House prosecutor, said.

“Ngayon, tatlong article po dito ay hindi na i-discuss. So imposible naman po na ito ay aabutin pa ng 30 trial dates dahil isang article na lang po ang pinag-uusapan po natin,” he added.

Chua said the defense had already presented witnesses over four hearing days from Nov. 9 to 12, with two more full-day sessions scheduled for Nov. 19 and 20.

He said additional hearings in December could give Duterte’s lawyers enough time to complete their presentation without using all 30 dates originally requested.

The remaining charge centers on allegations of unexplained wealth, including findings by prosecution witness and forensic accounting expert Alexander Cabrera of at least P817.87 million in allegedly undeclared assets and unexplained wealth from 2022 to 2025.

The prosecution also presented records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council covering approximately P4.4 billion in reported transactions involving Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, from 2007 to 2025.

Luistro said the prosecution wanted the proceedings concluded so the country could move forward, regardless of the outcome.

“And upon witnessing that verdict or judgment by the senator-judges, it is about time we have a closure at mag-move on na ang buong bansa sa napakaraming usaping ito,” she said.