Impeachment court warns contempt, perjury vs ‘evasive’ witnesses
The Senate impeachment court issued a stern warning Tuesday that witnesses facing questioning in the ongoing trial of Vice President Sara Duterte could face contempt citations and perjury charges if they give false or evasive testimony.
The warning came after Davao City Assessor Jaime Adalin — the defense’s first witness — was criticized by senator-judges for laughing, smirking and offering evasive answers during cross-examination by the prosecution.
Senator-judge Panfilo Lacson called Adalin’s demeanor a “mockery” of the proceedings, emphasizing that the Senate court holds full authority to cite any uncooperative witness for contempt.
“Yesterday was not a good day for the impeachment court, Mr. Presiding Officer, simply because we had a witness who smirked, who laughed, almost made a mockery of the impeachment trial,” Lacson said. “And we don’t want to have a repeat of that kind of testimony.”
Senator-judge Vicente Sotto III requested formal clarification on available legal sanctions for non-compliant witnesses.
Presiding Officer Francis Escudero warned that lying under oath carries severe consequences beyond internal Senate sanctions.
“In addition to [contempt], [witnesses] may be subjected to cases of perjury should one be filed against him before the proper prosecutor’s office and our courts of law, because the statements given by any witness are under oath,” Escudero said.
Adalin drew criticism Monday during Day 40 of the trial while being questioned by private prosecutor Benjamin Tolosa Jr. regarding an all-expenses-paid trip to China allegedly sponsored by the Chinese consulate.
The prosecution sought to establish Adalin’s personal ties to Duterte, who served as Davao City mayor before becoming vice president. Adalin was promoted to city assessor in 2017 during Duterte’s mayoral tenure.
When asked about the trip, Adalin initially dismissed the line of questioning as “irrelevant” and repeatedly chuckled while claiming he could not recall traveling to China less than a year prior.
Following an hourlong recess and threats of a contempt citation, Adalin admitted traveling to China with Davao local government department heads in late January but maintained he could not recall their itinerary.
Verification by Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros showed Adalin flew from Manila to Beijing on 25 January and returned from Shanghai on 30 January.