Prosecutor urges flexible rules to avoid delaying Sara Duterte impeachment trial

In the Senate impeachment court, prosecutor James Alih cautioned that applying the same strict evidentiary standards as ordinary courts to Vice President Sara Duterte's trial could cause unnecessary delays. He emphasized that the bank records from Landbank's Davao branch were already submitted via a court subpoena and were common exhibits for both prosecution and defense. Defense counsel Carlo Joaquin Narvasa challenged the prosecution's handling of witness Eunice Sumatra, claiming the questioning lacked proper foundation.

Presiding officer Francis Escudero initially allowed full authentication but later ruled that streamlining the process would not strip the defense of its right to contest the evidence. The judge highlighted that the records' custody and court-supervised reproduction satisfied procedural safeguards. The debate centers on balancing due-process rights with the need to keep the impeachment trial efficient.