Metro Manila, Philippines – The prosecution team is preparing to present evidence on the alleged unexplained wealth of Vice President Sara Duterte, a lawmaker said, as the panel weighs in on dropping bribery charges to hasten the impeachment trial.
In a press briefing on Thursday, Sept. 3, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon said the prosecution has received the tax documents and bank records of Duterte and her husband, Mans Carpio.
Ridon is lead prosecutor in the presentation of evidence on unexplained wealth.
He said he and his fellow prosecution members will review the documents, which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. authorized to disclose as evidence in the trial.
Ridon said the team has yet to decide on whether or not it will present bribery charges after the article on confidential fund misuse.
“Simply speaking as the lead of unexplained wealth, tingin namin mas compelling yung po charges ng unexplained wealth but not to say hindi mo mahalaga yung po charges under bribery,” he said.
[Translation: Simply speaking as the lead prosecutor for the charges of unexplained wealth, we think that this article is more compelling, without saying that bribery allegations are not significant.]
Ridon said dropping the bribery charge would help reach the December target to wrap up the trial.
Meanwhile, Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Adiong, panel spokesperson, said prosecutors also acknowledged that a number of Filipinos prefer the bribery charge to be discussed in court.
An OCTA Research survey in July stated that 4 in 10 Filipinos believe bribery was the most serious impeachment allegation.
Dropping witnesses
Asked about dropping witnesses for the confidential fund misuse, Ridon declined to give a direct answer on whether the prosecution will still present controversial personalities, including Ramil Madriaga, Duterte’s self-confessed bagman, and “Mary Grace Piattos,” a recipient of confidential funds.
“I think iyong mga aspects na really proving the tie to the vice president ang mahalaga. Katulad ng nabanggit ko, tapos na ho ang bahagi na iyon, nabanggit na po iyon sa testimonya ni Ms. Acosta, testimonya po ni Mr. Ortonio, testimonya po ni Atty. Poa,” he said, when asked about the likelihood of dropping the two from the witness list.
[Translation: The aspects that really prove the connection to the vice president are what I think are important. As I mentioned, that part has already been covered, it was already discussed in the testimonies of Ms. Gina Acosta, Mr. Lemuel Ortonio, and Atty. Michael Poa.]
At the trial on Wednesday, Sept. 2, Madriaga and Piattos were not on the witness lineup for next week, even as lead prosecutor Jinky Luistro said it plans to wrap up its presentation on misuse of confidential funds by Sept. 9.
In a chance interview on Wednesday, prosecution spokesperson and adviser Ace Barbers said Raymund Lachica, Duterte’s ex-security chief, is “out of the picture” as a witness in the interest of reducing the number of testimonies to shorten the trial period.
Lachica’s name has been repeatedly mentioned by witnesses, as the security officer who received funds for confidential operations.
