SHORT TRIAL
THE lawyer for the EJK victims want the impeachment trial to start on May 18, or after the mid-term elections, to allow incumbent senators running for re-election to finish their campaign first.
Former congressman Neri Colmenares said in a radio interview that the prosecution team should focus only on one or two strong cases to keep the trial short and gain a conviction no later than June 30, the last day of the 19th Congress.
He said legal complications could delay the trial if the 20th Congress takes over with a new set of senators who would sit as judges.
For one, he said the Duterte camp could go to the Supreme Court to question the jurisdiction of the 20th Congress.
Voting will be on May 12, and a May 18 trial start could end in conviction even before June 30 if the prosecution focuses, for instance, on Duterte’s use of P125 million of government money in just 11 days which, he said, is supported by solid evidence.
Colmenares said the trial rules already exist and they were used in trying and convicting former Chief Justice Renato Corona.
