Prosecution drops plan to call Duterte, ready to cross-examine if defense presents her

Metro Manila, Philippines – House prosecutors will no longer seek to call Vice President Sara Duterte to the witness stand in her impeachment trial but are prepared to cross-examine her if the defense decides to present her as a witness, lead prosecutor Jinky Luistro said.

In an interview on NewsWatch Plus’ The Newsmaker, Luistro said forensic accountant Alex Cabrera is the prosecution’s final witness, effectively closing the possibility of calling Duterte during the presentation of its own evidence.

“I confirm that the prosecution will no longer be asking for the calling of the respondent Vice President for the presentation of prosecution’s evidence,” Luistro said.

She said, however, that prosecutors would question Duterte if her legal team chooses to put her on the witness stand.

“We look forward to the defense presenting her as one of their witnesses. We will be very much interested to conduct our cross-examination,” she added.

Luistro said prosecutors are preparing to challenge the defense witnesses once the presentation of evidence shifts to Duterte’s legal team.

“We will be employing the same amount of effort to be able to effectively cross-examine the witnesses to be presented by the defense,” she said.

Defense strategy

Defense lawyer and spokesperson Michael Poa declined to comment on  whether Duterte will be part of their lineup. 

“Kung alam ko man kung mangyayari o hindi, hindi ko sasabihin muna sa inyo,” defense spokesperson Michael Poa told reporters. 

[Translation: Even if I knew whether that would happen, I wouldn’t tell you yet.] 

Poa also declined to comment on the prosecution’s decision to drop the bribery article, saying it was entirely within its prerogative.

Poa said the defense is not celebrating the withdrawal of the bribery charge, stressing that much work remains before it can present its case. 

“There’s no sigh of relief on our part,” he said. 

The defense is still finalizing its witness list, which includes more than 90 named and reserve witnesses, and has yet to determine how many of its requested minimum 30 trial days it will need. 

Poa said the unexplained wealth article could require the most extensive presentation because of the volume of financial documents, but emphasized that all remaining charges would receive equal attention since conviction on just one article would be sufficient to remove Duterte from office.