Palace questions Sara bribery rap withdrawal

Malacañang questioned what will happen to the evidence gathered by the House prosecution panel on the alleged bribery of Department of Education (DepEd) officials after the panel decided to drop the charge against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said Sunday that dropping the bribery charge could deprive Filipinos of answers on an allegation that the House itself included in the impeachment articles.

“But it was included in the Articles of Impeachment, which means they had sufficient evidence to discuss the bribery issue before the impeachment court,” Castro said in Filipino. “If they withdraw the bribery allegation against the Vice President, aren’t they shortchanging Filipinos who want to know the whole truth?”

But Castro said the decision ultimately rests with the prosecution panel. “It is up to the prosecution. If they believe that is the proper strategy in presenting the witnesses,” she said.

Manila Rep. Joel Chua, a House prosecutor, confirmed Sunday that the panel would drop Article III, which accused Duterte of bribing DepEd officials during her tenure as education secretary from 2022 to 2024.

“Yes, it is confirmed,” Chua said in a radio interview, referring to the withdrawal. He explained that the decision was intended to prevent the impeachment trial from being delayed further and spilling into next year.

Money envelopes

Among the evidence under Article III were nine envelopes allegedly given to DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Jumamil-Mercado, the agency’s head of procuring entity, each containing P50,000.

Jumamil-Mercado previously testified at a House hearing that the money may have been intended to influence her decisions.

Chua said the prosecution had initially planned to complete its presentation of evidence the following week and turn the proceedings over to the defense.

He said the panel believes its evidence on the first three impeachment articles is sufficient and that dropping the bribery charge was not based on weakness in the case.

The prosecution has concluded its presentation on allegations involving grave threats against public officials and misuse of confidential funds.

Hidden wealth?

It is now presenting documents related to Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth, including bank transaction records, with witnesses from the Anti-Money Laundering Council expected to testify.

Chua said the prosecution hopes the trial will end by November or December, although the timetable will depend on the defense.

Impeachment court spokesperson Reggie Tongol previously said a verdict could be issued by 16 December, something which some senators contradicted, saying they have yet to look at the timetable vis-à-vis the actual length of the proceedings.