Metro Manila, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte’s legal team said it is withholding the names of some witnesses for her impeachment trial for security reasons and pushed back against claims that it copied prosecution witnesses.
Michael Poa, one of Duterte’s lawyers, made the statement in a chance interview on the sidelines of Day 3 of the pre-trial conference on Tuesday, June 23.
“Meron naman talaga mga reservations, magkabilang panig. Kami din sa defense, meron din kaming na-reserve na witnesses, hindi namin pinangalanan. Bakit? Para sa kanilang seguridad,” Poa said.
[Translation: There are reservations on both sides. We in the defense also have reserved witnesses that we have not named. Why? For their security.]
Senate Secretary Rey Bantug, clerk of the impeachment court, earlier said both sides are allowed to have “surprise witnesses,” subject to a three-day notice before their appearance in court.
Poa said the defense will comply with the requirement.
However, he rejected the prosecution’s claim that the defense “mirrored” or adopted some prosecution witnesses.
“Hindi naman po tama yung terminology na mirroring or adopting because as you know, when you were here that day, halos sabay po kami nagsubmit ng pre-trial brief,” Poa said.
“Nasa bawat panig naman po yun kung sinong witnesses at anong mga dokumento ang iprepresenta,” he added.
[Translation: It is not correct to use the term ‘mirroring’ or ‘adopting’ because, as you know, when you were here that day, we submitted our pre-trial briefs almost simultaneously. That is up to each side — who their witnesses are and what documents they will present.]
Jay Tolosa, new legal spokesperson for the prosecution panel and a private prosecutor, earlier said the prosecution and defense have 51 common witnesses, with 16 named and 35 unnamed.
The prosecution panel has asked the impeachment court to compel the defense to specify its witnesses and the purpose of their testimonies, said prosecution spokesperson Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong.
“So we want to know exactly… ba’t nila ina-adopt yung ating mga witnesses if they will be treated as hostile witnesses by the defense. We also would like to know what are the purposes by which these are adopted as a common witness, for example, if I may use the common term,” Adiong said.
Poa said the defense respects the prosecution’s move and will respond accordingly.
Meanwhile, lead public prosecutor Batangas Rep. Jinky Luistro said the pre-trial may stretch to a fourth day as the marking of evidence may still not be completed on Tuesday due to the volume of documents and the lengthy process.
“Initially, we asked if it is possible — one marking for common exhibits, but the defense denied that,” Luistro said.
“As has been previously shared to the media, maraming exhibits ang prosecution na adopted ng defense,” she added.
Poa, in response, said the defense was simply being “very careful.” He stressed that the pre-trial is a crucial phase for the orderly conduct of the trial.
