Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, lead prosecutor in the impeachment on Vice President Sara Duterte, said the prosecution panel has submitted a manifestation to the Senate, explaining why it did not file a reply to the Vice President’s answer.

The panel noted that the respondent neither disputed the material allegations in the Articles of Impeachment nor raised new factual issues requiring a response.

In the same press conference, impeachment prosecutor and Akbayan Partylist Rep. Chel Diokno said Duterte’s answer appeared aimed at securing the dismissal of the case rather than addressing the factual allegations in the impeachment complaint.

“Ang ini-expect natin na answer o ‘yung sagot sa Articles of Impeachment ay sasagutin dapat ‘yung mga alegasyon ng mga facts na andun. Pero kung titingnan kasi natin ‘yung naging sagot ni VP ay mukhang ang gusto niya ay ipa-dismiss agad ang kaso,” Diokno said.

“Kaya po hindi na kami nag-file ng reply dahil wala naman bagong factual allegations na kailangang sagutin. Ang kailangan ngayon ay litisin na agad ang kasong ito at kami naman po sa hanay ng prosecution ay handang-handa na magpresenta ng ebidensya," he added.

Luistro said the panel continues to work based on the timeline earlier released by the Senate, which sets the pre-trial conference on June 18 and the start of trial on July 6.

“We anticipate na June 18 ang 11 prosecutors po ay a-appear sa impeachment court for the first day of pre-trial conference and on July 6 para po sa unang schedule ng trial naman doon sa impeachment court,” Luistro said.

Asked about the next steps, Luistro said the prosecution panel is set to submit its pre-trial brief by June 15, in line with the schedule previously released by the Senate.

Luistro said the pre-trial brief would contain stipulations and admissions, a list of witnesses, and the marking of exhibits. She added that any manifestation the prosecution panel wishes to raise in relation to the trial may also be included in the filing. House of Representatives