Manila: Members of the House prosecution panel on Monday warned of growing disinformation surrounding the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, saying misleading narratives are likely to intensify as the trial draws closer. House prosecutor Rep. Leila de Lima said the public should expect more attempts to distort developments in the case as proceedings move from pretrial preparations to the presentation of evidence.
According to Philippines News Agency, De Lima emphasized the need for vigilance against disinformation, urging the public to be cautious and discerning. 'I think as these proceedings progress, we can expect more of that, more of disinformation, more of fake news, more of factual distortion, spins of the real stories of the things that happened. So we just have to be very circumspect and careful,' De Lima told reporters after the latest pretrial conference.
The warning came after social media posts over the weekend claimed the prosecution team had supposedly been overwhelmed by the defense panel during the ongoing pretrial proceedings. House prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro dismissed the reports as false. 'That is not true. I charge it to fake news. We should be careful in deciphering what is correct and what is false. So we just have to be very circumspect and careful,' Luistro said.
House prosecution legal spokesperson Benjamin Tolosa Jr. clarified that claims of either side gaining a decisive advantage during the pretrial conference were unfounded. He noted that the proceedings involved procedural matters and not rulings on the merits of the impeachment case. 'So, to say that you got the upper hand, it should mean that you're able to get favorable rulings on your part. But that's impossible because the clerk of the impeachment court cannot even make any rulings,' he said.
Tolosa stated that the prosecution's focus remains on moving the proceedings forward, adding that the panel has already completed the marking of evidence for two articles of impeachment and is working to finish the remaining articles. Despite what prosecutors described as attempts to inject issues that could slow down proceedings, Luistro said the prosecution remains committed to ensuring that the impeachment trial begins on July 6 as scheduled by the Senate. 'Even if there will be attempts, the prosecution will remain firm in making sure that the trial will start on July 6, 2026, as previously scheduled by the Senate,' she said.
