The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte said it is now shifting its attention to Article 1 of the impeachment complaint after the prosecution withdrew several witnesses for Article 4, stressing that the move is solely within the prosecution’s discretion.
The House prosecution panel in the impeachment trial recently withdrew several witnesses for Article 4, which pertains to the grave threats allegation, narrowing its presentation to focus on witnesses it considers most essential to proving its case.
The panel dropped six witnesses, in addition to two previously withdrawn, because their testimonies were deemed redundant, cumulative, or unnecessary. These include representatives from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Firearms and Explosives Office; journalists Mikhail Flores of Reuters and Bonz Magsambol of Rappler; former Davao City Sheriff Abe Andres, who was previously punched by Duterte; a psychiatrist; a family member of a victim of the alleged threats; Duterte’s former chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez; and House Security official Capt. Belinda Bello.
Atty. Michael Wesley Poa, one of Duterte’s co-counssel, said the defense is already prepared for all articles of impeachment and may also streamline its own witness list when its turn comes.
He added that while the defense is now focusing on Article 1, it continues to prepare for the upcoming appearance of National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag.
Article 1 of the impeachment case against Duterte centers on the alleged misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) when she was its secretary.
“We will just move on to prepare for Article 1. But we’ve been preparing naman quite some time, so we just shift our attention now to Article 1, but of course without forgetting that Director Matibag is still to be called next week,” he said.
Poa maintained that every member of the defense panel is ready to handle any aspect of the proceedings.
“Lahat naman ng articles. Sabi ko nga noon, pagdating sa defense… lahat kami, we’re conditioned and our disposition is that each and every lawyer in the defense team should be able to argue and cross-examine and to stand for the defense on any given day and for any given witness,” he said.
Asked whether Lopez could be presented as a defense witness under Article 1, Poa said no such discussion has taken place.
“Sa ngayon wala pa kaming napag-uusapan na ganyan dahil nga ’yung depensa po kasi matagal pa. Nandun pa kami sa dulo as far as the prosecution is concerned,” he said.
He explained that the prosecution had earlier clarified that it intends to finish presenting evidence on all impeachment articles before the defense begins presenting its own evidence.
Poa also defended the defense’s earlier arguments on due process, saying the issuance of subpoenas must comply with legal requirements.
He explained that subpoenas must clearly specify the documents or evidence being sought and must be directly relevant to the issues being litigated.
“Pagdating sa pag-issue ng subpoena, you have to look at two things. First is definiteness… Pangalawa, it has to be relevant. Ibig sabihin may kaugnayan o direktang kaugnayan dito sa isinasagawang paglilitis,” Poa said.
He emphasized that due process protections apply not only to the respondent in the impeachment case but to all Filipinos.
“Kung ibabalewala na lang natin ’yung mga batas natin… then nawawala ang due process because the respondent has protections under the law. Again, hindi lang ’yan sa respondent, it goes for each and every one of us Filipinos,” he said.
Citing a Supreme Court ruling, Poa said due process must be observed at every stage of an impeachment proceeding—from the filing of the complaint in the House of Representatives to the trial before the Senate.
Asked whether the defense would also reduce its witness lineup following the prosecution’s decision, Poa said it was still too early to determine.
“Too early to say, sir, kasi mahaba pa ito, sa dulo pa lang kami. Actually, mauna muna ang prosecution so right now I don’t want to give any definite statement because it’s really too early to say,” he said.
