Prosec asks for switch in presentation of witness, defense objects

MANILA, Philippines — The prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has asked the Senate impeachment court to be allowed to present a forensic financial analyst first as their witness instead of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) representative since the assigned prosecutor tasked is indisposed.

At the start of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on Thursday, public prosecutor and Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon requested that forensic expert Atty. Alex Cabrera be presented first before the BIR since counsel for the prosecution Erwin Matib is sick.

Matib is the lawyer assigned by the prosecution panel to present the BIR representative.

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“May ipinakikiusap lang po ang prosecution na i-una po ‘yong financial analyst sa presentasyon po ngayong araw kasi ‘yong presenting lawyer po for the BIR witness, meron pong maliit na sakit,” Ridon manifested.

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(The prosecution just has a request if we can present first the financial analyst today because the presenting lawyer for the BIR witness, he has a mild ailment.)

Presiding Officer and Sen. Francis Escudero confirmed with the clerk of court that Cabrera is in the holding area despite having no subpoena issued for him. 

Lead counsel for the respondent Sheila Sison, however, objected to this request from the prosecution.

According to Sison, this is not even a last-minute request as the manifestation was made during the trial itself.

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“Good morning your Honor, we object to this switching at the last minute, in fact not even at the last minute, (but) today, of the witness that the prosecution intends to present today.  We prepared for the BIR witness, which they had disclosed and had they known that problem since yesterday, we expect that we would have at least been notified yesterday your Honor,” Sison said.

“And just for the record, we saw Atty. Matib here yesterday, the one who is supposed to present the BIR witness for them today.  We don’t know if this belated notice, ultra-belated notice will suffice to afford the respondent the opportunity to prepare for their supposed forensic financial analyst your Honor,” she added.

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Sison also highlighted that there is no subpoena issued for Cabrera.

“Plus, the court is correct, it has not yet subpoenaed the witness, and this is really unfair for the prosecution to just replace its witness at the last minute and expect us to examine the witness today,” she noted.

Eventually, Escudero ruled that the prosecution be allowed to allow the direct examination of Cabrera as long as the defense’s cross examination will be allowed on a later date, and that the BIR will be presented either immediately or on Friday if Matib’s condition improves.

“Atty. Sheila, the best I can do is allow cross tomorrow and if Atty. Erwin should (his) condition improve, to bring back the BIR and let the BIR testify even if we are right in the middle of the direct (examination) of the forensic expert, Atty. Cabrera, to highlight that the court’s priority will still be the BIR,” Escudero said.

“Now on Friday, if Atty. Erwin is still not available, the court expects the prosecution to replace him with another lawyer so that the BIR will be presented on Friday.  Finished or not finished, pass your paper na kayo do’n, is that understood Honorable Ridon?” he added, with Ridon confirming.

However, this ruling was again changed after Escudero consulted with fellow senator-judges.

Duterte is being tried before the Senate impeachment court over four main allegations.  

The prosecution has finished discussing two of the Articles of Impeachment, and is now focusing on presenting evidence for Article II or her alleged unexplained wealth and failure to disclose these in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

Discussions have shifted to Duterte’s bank accounts, after the prosecution’s witness, Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura, testified on Monday that the council indeed flagged several transactions involving Duterte and her relatives worth P4.4 billion.

At one point, Buenaventura testified that Duterte and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, had made P193 million worth of unique bank transactions in just one day — on March 28, 2014.

On Wednesday, BPI Central Metro Manila Branches Division Head Marwin Galvez confirmed that the father and daughter opened joint time deposit accounts worth P40 million and P55 million in 2010.

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The BIR witness would have testified on the tax declarations fo Duterte and her husband Manases Carpio. /gsg