Prosecution eyes VP Sara allies as “hostile” witnesses

CEBU, Philippines — House prosecutors will use the Senate impeachment court’s subpoena powers to compel testimonies from "hostile" and unwilling witnesses—including members of Vice President Sara Duterte’s own defense camp—when her impeachment trial begins on July 6, a prosecution panel member revealed on Sunday.

In an interview over dzBB, Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua said that the prosecution’s 57-person witness list contains several individuals who are expected to resist testifying voluntarily.

“Kaya nga po meron tayong tinatawag na unwilling or hostile witness. Hindi naman lahat ng mga ipi-presenta doon ay willing,” Chua said.

The clarification follows a social media post by former court sheriff Abe Andres—whom Duterte punched during a 2011 demolition operation while serving as Davao City mayor—appealing to be excluded from what he called “partisan political matters.”

The 2011 assault is one of the behavioral benchmarks cited by prosecutors in the Articles of Impeachment.

Chua stressed that inclusion on the preliminary list does not guarantee an immediate summons, as the panel will gauge the necessity of individual testimonies as the trial unfolds.

“‘Yung mga nilista po namin doon, not necessarily po lahat ’yan ay ipapatawag agad-agad,” Chua explained. “Lahat po ’yan, nilagay lamang po namin in the event na kailanganin pa ang kanilang testimonya. Pero kung dumating sa punto na sa tingin namin ay matibay na ‘yung testimonya at hindi na sila kakailanganin, eh malamang sa malamang ay hindi na rin naman sila ipatawag.”

However, if a vital witness refuses to cooperate, Chua confirmed the panel will request the Senate impeachment court to force their appearance, saying they would be subpoenaed.

This strategy applies to witnesses who are actively aligned with the Vice President.

Among those listed by the prosecution is former Department of Education (DepEd) spokesperson Michael Poa, who currently serves as one of Duterte's defense lawyers.

“Kasi ’yung iba naman doon hindi naman namin masasabing testigo namin kundi magiging hostile witness sila kasi sila ay nasa panig ng depensa. Pero kinakailangan na marinig ‘yung kanilang testimonya dahil ito ay magdadagdag sa mga gusto pong patunayan ng prosecution,” Chua said.

Meanwhile, Chua said that prosecutors have no intention of dragging all 4,000 individual recipients of Duterte's controversial confidential funds to the witness stand, explaining that focusing on a single prominent, suspected fictitious character named "Mary Grace Piattos" will be legally sufficient to prove their case.

He said this amid concerns that the trial would drag on for years due to the sheer volume of signatures on the liquidation documents.

House investigators previously alleged that thousands of acknowledgment receipts used to justify the Office of the Vice President's (OVP) confidential expenditures featured fabricated names.

“Hindi naman kailangan lahat kasi kung makikita ninyo, 4,000 ang nakatanggap ng acknowledgment receipt. Hindi mo naman pwedeng ipatawag ang 4,000. Tapos na po ang termino ng susunod na administration, hindi pa po tayo tapos ‘pag lahat ’yan ipatatawag namin,” Chua said.

Instead, the prosecution will zero in on "Mary Grace Piattos," a name found on several OVP acknowledgment receipts that became a central focus of congressional investigations after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) confirmed it had no birth or marriage records matching the identity.

“Sa ngayon po si Mary Grace Piattos dahil siya ang pinaka-prominente doon sa lahat ng mga nakatanggap ng confidential fund,” Chua said, indicating that her case serves as a clear example of the alleged ghost disbursements.

Chua concluded that the streamlined witness presentation is designed purely to establish the core facts of the impeachment complaint without gridlocking the Senate.

“We just want to prove a point. May mga point lang tayo na gustong i-prove na sa tingin natin ay kailangan at makakatulong sa panig whether sa prosecution or sa depensa kaya kami nagpapatawag ng mga ganyan,” he said. (CEBU NEWS)