Tolosa on defense’s request for more time: ‘Obviously, it’s causing delay’

MANILA, Philippines — Prosecution counsel and spokesperson Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. on Thursday stopped short of calling the defense’s request for more time to study financial records as a delaying tactic.

But he noticed that the move was “obviously” stalling Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.

On the 32nd day of Duterte’s trial, the impeachment court deferred hearing the testimony of Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura to Monday.

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The deferment came after the defense team raised concerns over the confidentiality of the records and requested for more time to adequately prepare.

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Tolosa talked about the adjustment in schedule in an Inquirer interview after today’s trial.

He believes the presentation of financial documents must be promptly done as this is usually the “main event” during impeachment proceedings.

“Well, we’ve seen that everytime there is significant evidence to be presented, issues are raised about it,” the counsel noted.

“But I am not saying that they are deliberately trying to cause a delay. But obviously, the fact is, it is causing a delay,” he clarified.

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For her part, defense lead counsel Sheila Sison said that copies of the AMLC summaries that will be presented during Buenaventura’s testimony were only given to the defense team on Thursday morning.

The prosecution was prepared to present the witness Thursday afternoon.

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Tolosa believes that there was ample time for the defense to be ready.

To address Sison’s concerns on confidentiality, Tolosa cited Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros’ remarks during the proceedings.

Hontiveros said that the matter had already been settled when the impeachment court granted the prosecution’s request for subpoenas for the AMLC records.

“It was also echoed by some of the senator-judges that they have had copies of these AMLC records since July,” Tolosa mentioned.

“So, the only new material is the summary. But they have had copies of the main documents from which these were taken for a long time,” he recalled.

Tolosa was then asked whether the impeachment court’s decision to defer the testimony was unfair to the prosecution.

This relates to Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano invocation of fairness in granting the defense additional time to review the documents.

“Our position is that there is really no need for it because there is ample time to prepare for this witness and the documents that we will be presenting,” Tolosa remarked.

“Nevertheless, if that is the decision of the impeachment court, we will respect it and proceed on Monday,” he said.

Tolosa thinks the prosecution could have continued with the witness’ testimony until 6 p.m. or later on Thursday and throughout Friday.

However, following the impeachment court’s ruling, and with no subsequent witnesses available, the trial concluded earlier than the intended 6:30 p.m. end time.

Today was supposed to mark the first day of whole-day proceedings.

Duterte’s trial will resume next week, still on full day “marathon” schedules from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. or later as the impeachment court hears the testimonies of officials from various financial institutions.

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In continuation of the prosecution’s presentation on Article II or the unexplained wealth, the panel will next present officials from the AMLC, banks and insurance companies, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue. /apl