Prosecution to present impeach witnesses today

MANILA, Philippines — The prosecution – composed of 11 House representatives and 14 private practitioners – will begin presenting witnesses today against Vice President Sara Duterte, after formally entering their appearance before the Senate impeachment court.

“Today marks government accountability. The prosecution will present exactly what the 1987 Constitution requires: evidence. Not gossip. Not hearsay. Not propaganda. And especially not social media narratives,” lead prosecutor Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville Luistro told the Senate impeachment court on Monday.

She vowed that prosecutors would present “official records, financial documents, government reports, video recordings, witness testimony, statements under oath and independent findings from government institutions.”

“If a barangay treasurer must account for public funds, then so must the VP,” Luistro said.

“Impeachment is not a weapon for political revenge, but a constitutional safeguard for the Republic. Not to punish political opponents, not to settle political scores, but to protect the Republic itself,” she added.

House prosecutor and Akbayan party-list Rep. Chel Diokno also formally informed the impeachment court, presided over by Sen. Francis Escudero, on how they intend to go about the four Articles of Impeachment – Article IV first, then I, followed by III and lastly II.

Article IV is about Duterte’s alleged plot to assassinate President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and their cousin, former speaker Martin Romualdez; Article I involves the misappropriation of P612.5 million in confidential funds; Article III concerns bribery and corruption at the Department of Education and Article II covers unexplained wealth and statements of assets, liabilities and net worth.

“In the history of the Philippines, it has only been now where a VP admitted having a hitman-friend, whom she ordered to kill the sitting President of the Republic. No VP has yet planned to have the president killed so that she can take over as the constitutional successor,” Luistro declared.

Following agreement by both the defense and prosecution, the Senate impeachment court allowed the presentation of surprise witnesses within a five-day period, setting a “witness disclosure rule.”

NBI officials

At the same time, the Senate impeachment court ordered the issuance of subpoenas to two National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) officials expected to testify and produce documents pertaining to Article IV of the impeachment complaint.

Escudero issued the order following the prosecution’s request to subpoena Jeremy Lotoc, regional director of the NBI, and John Mark Calilung, a senior agent.

Escudero said the two witnesses were named in the prosecution’s pre-trial brief and were not addressed in the respondent’s pre-trial brief. He allowed the defense to raise objections before granting the request. — Mark Ernest Villeza