Members of the House Prosecution panel and Defense panel of Vice President Sara Duterte were seen discussing with presiding officer Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero during the 23rd day of the impeachment trial against Duterte.
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The prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte reserved the right to call her as a witness after completing its presentation on all four Articles of Impeachment.
In a manifestation before the Senate impeachment court on Tuesday, private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan said the panel would forego presenting 15 remaining witnesses on the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
Kapunan said testimony from previous witnesses had already established what the prosecution considered a pattern pointing to Duterte.
She likened the handling of confidential funds to a chessboard, with Duterte as the “queen.”
“In this game of chess…the most important piece, more important than the king, and I speak this not because of my gender, but the queen is more important than the king because the queen can move in many directions,” Kapunan said.
“And we have seen that, we have seen that in the evidence presented,” she added.
Kapunan said the prosecution considers Duterte the “accountable person” in the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
She added that the Vice President’s testimony would also be material to Article I, Article IV on grave threats and the remaining articles involving unexplained wealth and alleged bribery of public officials.
“Unless the Vice President herself appears and respects the process of this impeachment court and affirms, confirms her allegation of innocence, your honor, the people will never know if the prosecution’s case is really based on witnesses and evidence,” Kapunan said.
She argued that Duterte’s appearance would also demonstrate that the impeachment process was being conducted with political neutrality and impartial justice.
Asked by presiding officer Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero when the prosecution intended to subpoena Duterte, Kapunan reiterated that her testimony would be material to the allegations against her.
“We will be resting on this article, your honor, with the reservation of calling two possible witnesses. Two possible witnesses at the end, your honor, the Vice President herself, and perhaps an amicus curiae,” she said.
Escudero said the impeachment court would maintain its schedule for the presentation of evidence on Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth beginning 14 September.
He added that 9 and 10 September would be devoted to marking voluminous documents involving the bank records of Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, with no hearings scheduled on those dates.
