Impeach court allows surprise witnesses

The presentation of surprise witnesses is still possible during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, even if the prosecution and the defense have already submitted their respective lists of witnesses and evidence.

- Delon Porcalla, Emmanuel Tupas, Neil Jayson Servallos

This was according to Senate Secretary Renato Bantug, the designated clerk of court in the impeachment trial, who said both the prosecution and the defense "have the right to make reservations as to witnesses that may not be available yet during pretrial." However, the party making such adjustment should inform the other of the identities of the new witness or witnesses at least three days before their scheduled appearance, he pointed out.

"That's allowed in the rules of court and that's allowed here in the impeachment," he told reporters. A summary of witnesses was among those submitted by the parties in their pre-trial briefs.

The impeachment court has so far completed the marking of documentary evidence for two of four Articles of Impeachment: Articles III and IV, which cover allegations of bribery in the Department of Education and the threats to the life of President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and former speaker Martin Romualdez.

The pre-trial conference was expected to be over yesterday, but with the "sheer volume of documents" still needing to be examined and marked, Bantug said it may have to continue today.