Prosecution says it can't ask Trillanes' claims vs VP Sara in impeachment trial

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

The House prosecution panel on Saturday said it cannot use as basis for questions the claims presented by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV against Vice President Sara Duterte to witnesses in the impeachment trial against the second highest official in the executive branch.

At a news forum in Quezon City, House prosecution team legal spokesperson Atty. Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. said Trillanes’ accusations against the Duterte cannot be asked during the trial because “his [Trillanes’] statements were not made in the impeachment proceedings.”

The former senator, on Friday, accused the Vice President and her husband, lawyer Maneses Carpio, of respectively accepting P150 million and P319 million through their separate organizations from the People’s Republic of China.

This claim was supposed to be presented by Trillanes in the impeachment court before the prosecution removed him as a witness.

The former senator was dropped by the House prosecution as a witness.

Trillanes said it was he who asked the House prosecution panel to withdraw his name from being a witness in the ongoing impeachment trial as he opted to present all his claims in a press conference.

“There was a purpose when we were supposed to present [former] Senator Trillanes… but it did not push through. Still, we heard his story yesterday,” Tolosa said.

“Sabay sabay natin makikita ‘yan next week kung talagang magsisilbing resibo ang mga alegasyon ni Senator Trillanes nitong mga bank records, different financial transactions,” he said.

(We'll see next week whether former senator Trillanes’s allegations regarding these bank records and various financial transactions will truly serve as concrete proof.)

Other witnesses

House prosecutor Rep. Terry Ridon, for his part, said that the prosecution’s lineup of witnesses next week include the executive director of the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

“Sa darating na linggo, isasalang na ang financial witnesses… isasalang na finally ang AMLC executive director, patungkol sa transactions ng mag-asawang Duterte-Carpio at mga kumpanya po nila,” Ridon said.

(Next week, we will present financial witnesses will be presented—specifically, the AMLC executive director will finally take the stand—regarding the transactions of the Duterte-Carpio couple and their companies.)

“Pangalawa mga bangko at insurance firms na merong accounts ang mag asawang Carpio at panghuli ‘yun pong BIR para makita natin ‘yun pong income, net of taxes, ng mag-asawang Duterte-Carpio para makakita tayo ng most complete picture ng kayamanan supposedly ng ating pangalawang pangulo at kanyang asawa,” the lawmaker said.

(Second are the banks and insurance firms where the Carpio couple holds accounts, and finally, the BIR, so that we can see the income—net of taxes—of the Duterte-Carpio couple and obtain the most complete picture of the wealth supposedly held by our Vice President and her spouse.)

Tolosa said that the public should watch if the financial transactions to be presented by the witnesses will match Trillanes’ allegations against the Vice President. —VAL, GMA News