Sara's defense denies replicating prosecution's witness list

Lawyer Michael Poa, a member of the 16-man team for Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense, pushed back against allegations that they merely replicated witnesses prepared by the House prosecution team for the upcoming impeachment trial.

In an interview on the sidelines of the third day of the pre-trial conference on  Tuesday, Poa suggested that the logic was questionable, given that their camp submitted the 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 almost submitted the pre-trial brief at the same time,” Poa told reporters. 

He argued that relying on similar witnesses is a “normal” part of many court proceedings. 

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

The opposing camps allegedly share some witnesses, namely, Ombudsman Boying Remulla, former senator Sonny Trillanes, and Duterte’s alleged ex-aide and bagman, Ramil Madriaga, among others.

Additionally, there is a significant overlap between the exhibit lists of the opposing 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 going well, though they hope to conclude the proceedings at the soonest time to ensure that the trial proper on 6 July will proceed as scheduled. 

The pre-trial briefing—a closed-door proceeding between the prosecution and the defense—is expected to last until Thursday, 25 June, if not next week, due to the weight of the documents. 

House lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro said the documentary evidence pertaining to Duterte’s confidential and alleged unexplained wealth is “voluminous,” which requires extensive time for marking.

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

Both camps agreed that it’s highly unlikely to conclude the impeachment trial in three months, or until September, as initially projected by Luistro. 

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

Despite this, they said the verdict rests 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.

VP Duterte is facing allegations 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 Marcos, 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 proper.