The country’s prosecutors said they are dropping a bribery charge against Vice-President Sara Duterte (pic), who still faces three other charges at her ongoing impeachment trial that could lead to her removal from office.
The 48-year-old is also charged with misuse of state funds, unexplained wealth, and an alleged assassination threat against one-time ally President Ferdinand Marcos.
If the Senate finds her guilty on any of the charges, she will be stripped of the vice-presidency and permanently barred from elected office, ending her bid to become president in 2028.
Prosecutors from the House of Representatives, which voted to impeach Duterte in May, said the decision to drop the bribery charge would speed up the trial, which hit its 37th day yesterday.
“We think we have presented enough (evidence). To drag it further might be stretching the patience not only of the people but also the senator-judges,” Congressman and prosecutor Jonathan Keith Flores told reporters.
Prosecutors have already presented evidence and witnesses in support of the assassination and misuse of funds charges.
Yesterday, prosecutor Jose Manuel Diokno told the court they had presented their last witness in the hidden wealth case.
That witness will be cross-examined on Monday.
The Senate had originally given prosecutors 60 trial days to present their case, after which Duterte will present her own witnesses and evidence.
Last month, in a ruling widely seen as a blow to Duterte, the 24-seat Senate approved a lower threshold of votes needed to find her guilty, potentially making it easier to execute her ouster.
With at least four senators loyal to the vice-president now absent from the trial, only 14 votes are needed to find her guilty. — AFP
