The Senate has cleared procedural hurdles for Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, which opens on July 6. House prosecutors plan to call their first witness that day amid a dispute over a sealed box of tax records.
Following a five-day pre-trial conference that ended on June 25, the Senate formally cleared all procedural hurdles for the trial. Prosecutors consider the sealed Bureau of Internal Revenue box containing the Vice President’s tax records vital to proving an article of impeachment on unexplained wealth.
The defense team objected to opening or marking the box during pre-trial. Both sides agreed to defer the matter to the impeachment court, which convenes on July 6. Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said only the court can decide what to do with the box.
House prosecutors requested 62 trial days and aim to finish within three months. The schedule runs Monday to Wednesday until President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address on July 27, then shifts to Tuesday through Thursday. A psychiatrist is among the 57 witnesses listed.
