Defense did not coach witnesses -- Poa

Make this your preferred source to get more updates from this publisher on Google.

The spokesperson of Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team, Atty. Michael Poa, said they did not coach the witnesses they presented to the impeachment court.

On Tuesday, Duterte’s defense team presented Davao City accountant Vingelin Bajan. The prosecution pointed out that Bajan had been a partner of the firm that audited companies linked to the Vice President.

Asked about these ties, Poa admitted that they did not know about these, as the defense did not “prep” the witnesses.

“We do not, to be very candid with you, when we call these witnesses, we needed them for specific purposes, but we do not prep them. Kung meron mang kaming communication whatsoever, it's just the scope. ” Poa said.

(We do not, to be very candid with you, when we call these witnesses, we needed them for specific purposes, but we do not prepare them. If there is communication whatsoever, it’s just the scope.)

“We don't really interview them muna, ‘di ba? Because we want them to be able to just state the facts as they are and we don't want to be accused of tampering with their testimonies or coaching them or anything like that. So yung sa mga ties, we did not know about that,” Poa added.

(We don’t really interview them first, right? Because we want them to be able to just state the facts as they are and we don't want to be accused of tampering with their testimonies or coaching them or anything like that. So these ties, we did not know about that.)

Poa also said he understood the frustrations of senator-judges, but said that there was a chance that the witnesses truly did not remember the answers to some of the questions directed at them.

“We would want our witnesses to be as straightforward as they can. Since they're under oath, kung hindi talaga nila natatandaan, mahirap naman sigurong gumawa din sila ng kwento kung hindi naman talaga nila natatandaan. But, we'll see,” Poa said.

(We would want our witnesses to be as straightforward as they can. Since they're under oath, if they really do not remember, it would be difficult to have them make up a story if they truly do not remember.)

Similar to defense witness Davao City Assessor Engineer Jaime Adalin, several senator-judges showed frustration with Bajan, with both seeming to forget details of matters that were asked of them.

Despite the frustrations of some senator-judges, Poa said that there was no need for the defense to shift their strategy. —RF, GMA News