Prosecution: VP Sara's camp first witness 'weak, inconsistent'

The House Prosecution Panel expressed belief that the first witness that was presented by the lawyers of Vice President Sara Duterte was unable to disprove their allegations with respect to the discrepancy between her property in Davao City that was left undeclared.

Contrary to helping their client, public prosecutor and Manila Rep. Joel Chua said that the testimony of Davao City Assessor Engr. Jaime Adalin was more of a weakness for the defense.

“So what appears to be the witness presented earlier by the defense is also their weakness,” Chua said in a press briefing after the hearing.

The lawmaker said that Adalin, who had presented a property in Davao which had similar assessed and fair market values, was simply attempting to find a loophole as he was unable to certify the identity of the property through showcasing valuation figures for other parcels of land in the same area.

“Even at that point, you can see their witness attempting to come up with an excuse,” he stated.

Chua’s sentiments were echoed by lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro and prosecution spokesperson Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong who similarly maintained that Adalin’s claims were inconsistent.

Luistro said that she was “positive” that the panel was able to challenge the disparity when it came to the property that was described in the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of Duterte and the property that was indicated in the title and the deed of sale.

She argued that the engineer would have been unable to authenticate whether the properties he was describing during the proceedings were the same with what was declared in the SALN simply through the use of figures.

“No way. No way that the witness will be able to verify that that is the same property subject matter of the title and the deed of sale which was presented by the prosecution,” Luistro stressed.

“Testimony must be based on facts and not guessing,” she later stated, referencing a statement that was made by private prosecutor Atty. Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa during the proceedings.

Adiong, for his part, questioned the credibility of Adalin for his role given his inability to properly identify a restaurant based on the photos that the prosecutor presented during its cross examination.

“Would you believe that when we showed a clear picture of a restaurant, it has a name, he would say that he was unsure, what kind of assessor is that?” the lawmaker asked.

House impeachment adviser Robert Ace Barbers, meanwhile, did not mince words as he claimed that the defense’s own witness had failed them, hitting the legal strategy of the Vice President’s lawyers in its opening presentation.

“The VP is not getting her money’s worth with these lawyers,” Barbers quipped.