Manila: The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte remains on track for July 6, with the marking of exhibits expected to be completed on Monday, lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro said Friday.

According to Philippines News Agency, the Senate impeachment court started the pretrial conference on Thursday and is set to resume proceedings on June 22, while the trial proper remains scheduled to open on July 6. Luistro stated that the parties had already begun marking exhibits, with the prosecution hoping that the remaining work would be finished when the pretrial conference resumes.

"So just to update, nag-start tayo kahapon ng marking of exhibits and hopefully matapos na this coming Monday. Kasi apat na articles of impeachment yan na ating isinampa. Iba ang documentary exhibits per article so 'yung dalawang mahaba at marami, yan ang aming inihuli sa Monday (we started marking the exhibits yesterday and hopefully, we can finish this Monday. There were four articles of impeachment that we filed and each article has different sets of documentary evidence. We left the two longest articles with the most number of evidence for Monday)," she said.

Luistro emphasized that the start of the trial is indeed set for July 6 and is expected to proceed as scheduled. The prosecution has consistently highlighted the articles involving public funds and unexplained wealth as among the most document-heavy sections of the case.

The House prosecution panel has identified more than 30 potential witnesses, while Duterte's defense team has also submitted its own list of witnesses and documents before the pretrial process. Despite the number of witnesses, Luistro stressed that the key point for the public is that the trial date remains fixed at July 6.

Luistro further explained that the remaining step is to complete exhibit marking and wait for the issuance of the pretrial order that will guide the proceedings. This pretrial order will serve as the binding roadmap of the trial, limiting both prosecution and defense to the matters identified before the Senate impeachment court.

"In other words, ang purpose ng ating (the purpose of the) pre-trial conference is to simplify, to expedite, and to come up with a fair trial moving forward," Luistro said. The pretrial order will not merely summarize what happened during the conference but will control the conduct of the proceedings once the trial begins.

Luistro noted that one key function of the pretrial conference is to determine what facts can already be treated as admitted and what matters still need to be proven during trial. "We call that stipulation of facts. The parties also submit their witness lists during pre-trial so the impeachment court can determine the hearing dates needed by both sides," she explained.

Both parties have the opportunity to comment on the pretrial order if something discussed in the conference is omitted, misstated, or needs to be added. The House prosecution panel has submitted its pretrial brief and is preparing to present evidence on the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte, who denies the allegations and has called the case politically motivated.