Sara camp defends defense witness list

A member of the 16-man defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte pushed back yesterday against allegations they have merely “mirrored” or “adopted” the witness list of the House prosecution team for Duterte’s upcoming impeachment trial.

In an interview on the sidelines of the third day of the pre-trial conference on Tuesday, lawyer Michael Poa questioned the logic of this, given that their camp submitted its list of witnesses almost simultaneously with the prosecution.

“In our opinion, the terminology ‘mirroring’ or ‘adopting’ is not accurate because, as you know, you were here that day; we submitted the pre-trial brief almost at the same time,” Poa told reporters.

He said that relying on the same witnesses was “normal” in court proceedings.

Poa’s remarks were made in response to recent statements by members of the prosecution panel regarding their witness list, which is reportedly nearly identical to that of the defense.

The opposing camps reportedly share several witnesses, namely, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, former Senator Sonny Trillanes, and Duterte’s alleged ex-aide and bagman, Ramil Madriaga, among others.

Additionally, there is a significant overlap in the list of exhibits submitted by both camps.

According to House legal spokesperson and private prosecutor Benjamin Tolosa Jr., 248 out of the 276 exhibits of the prosecution panel were also listed in the pre-trial brief of evidence of the defense.

Both camps said the pre-trial conference is progressing well, but expressed hope the proceedings will be concluded soon so the trial proper could proceed as scheduled on 6 July.

The pre-trial briefing, a closed-door proceeding between the prosecution and the defense panels, is expected to last until Thursday, 25 June, or possibly into next week due to the volume of documents involved.

House lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro said the documentary evidence on Duterte’s confidential and alleged unexplained wealth was “voluminous,” requiring extensive time for marking.

“Actually, we are hoping to finish [the pre-trial conference] as soon as possible. However, the reality is that the documents are voluminous, most especially on the confidential funds,” she told reporters in an interview.

Both camps agreed that it was highly unlikely the impeachment trial would be concluded within three months, or by September, as initially projected by Luistro.

The House prosecutors requested 62 trial dates to present their witnesses, while the defense sought only half of that or 30 days.

The prosecutors said the verdict would rest solely with the Senate impeachment court and that any disagreements on the date will not affect the scheduled trial in the first week of July.

Duterte faces charges of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.

The charges are primarily related to the alleged misuse of over P600 million in confidential funds, unexplained wealth, and a plot to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez killed.

The secret funds were allocated to her office (P500 million) and the Department of Education (P112.5 million) which she headed for two years from June 2022 to June 2024.

Duterte has repeatedly dismissed the allegations of wrongdoing, deriding the impeachment proceedings as a fishing expedition and politically motivated, aimed at derailing her plans to run for president in 2028.

She was first impeached on 5 February last year. However, the Supreme Court struck it down on a technicality before the Senate could hold a trial.