Financial analyst takes witness stand despite protest from defense

MANILA, Philippines – A financial forensic analyst was called into the witness stand by the prosecution on Friday, during Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, overriding objections from the defense team over access to confidential financial statements.

Duterte’s defense lead counsel Atty. Sheila Sison questioned the authority of the analyst to get a hold of the documents subpoenaed by the court.

READ: VP Trial Day 37: BIR exec to finish testifying before Senate impeachment court

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According to Sison, upon the prosecution’s manifestation of calling as witness Atty. Alexander B. Cabrera, the defense likewise received what she characterized as a “supposed forensic report on Vice President Sara Duterte and spouse’s financial corporate property and related records.”

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“This court explicitly said that it has not issued any subpoena to this particular witness, and neither has it issued any subpoena duces tecum or any authority for this witness to be handed over certain documents, especially documents containing confidential data of the respondent,” Sison began.

“I am at a loss why this report now contains a statement that the work he purportedly performed involved, on his part, analyzing some documents that were made available to him pursuant to the subpoena from the impeachment court… which includes the vice president’s SALNS from 2022 to 2025, reports from AMLC, the income tax returns filed by the vice president and her spouse, the bank statements and bank records of investments they made, the financial statements of corporations,” she continued.

Sison stressed that Duterte would not have consented and “will never” consent to the disclosing of such information to a “stranger.”

“What authority does this witness have to hold or be handed over confidential data?” the lawyer questioned once again.

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In response, public prosecutor Rep. Jose Manual Diokno noted that the confidential documents Sison was alluding to had already been authorized by the court to be presented in open proceedings.

“I don’t know where the argument is coming from. He has been properly engaged by the prosecution and given the authority to examine those documents… These matters have been allowed by the honorable court,” Diokno highlighted.

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He continued: “Alam naman po natin na pinayagan ni presiding officer ang BIR records, pinayagan ni presiding officer ang AMLC records, pinayagan ni presiding officer ang bank records, insurance records. Ano po ang pinagsasabi nilang confidential?”

(We know that the presiding officer allowed the BIR records, the presiding officer allowed the AMLC records, the presiding officer allowed the bank records, insurance records. What are they saying is confidential?)

Diokno also pressed that expert witnesses must be provided with relevant documents to share their findings with the court.

READ: Flores confirms prosec manifested dropping bribery article vs VP Duterte

In the end, Escudero allowed Cabrera to be called to the witness stand, noting that pieces of evidence “legally obtained” may be handed over to their chosen experts.

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“Lawyers in general are allowed to seek the assistance of either lawyers, investigators, or non-lawyers furnished evidence that they have, and if at all subject to that limited access be furnished copies of whatever pieces of evidence they legally obtained,” Escudero said. /jpv