The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte is seeking an opportunity to explain the use of confidential funds and address questions surrounding acknowledgment receipts, signatures and names linked to allegations against her in the impeachment proceedings.
Atty. Michael Wesley T. Poa, spokesperson for Duterte’s defense counsel, said Tuesday, October 13, that the team was still hoping the Senate impeachment court would allow it to present rebuttal evidence concerning the articles withdrawn by the prosecution.
Poa said the defense wanted to explain the documents and the use of confidential funds through testimony and evidence in court, rather than disclose its planned presentation in media briefings.
“We just want to explain to the public, to our fellow citizens, what confidential funds really are, how they are used, and why there are acknowledgment receipts like these,” Poa said during a press briefing at the Senate.
DEFENSE SEEKS TO EXPLAIN SIGNATURES, NAMES IN DOCUMENTS
Poa said the defense also wanted to address questions about the signatures and names appearing in documents under scrutiny, including the name Mary Grace Piattos.
“Why are there signatures like these? Why is there Mary Grace Piattos? Those kinds of names. We want to explain them,” he said.
He added that the defense wanted senator-judges and the public to hear its explanations before making their own assessments of the allegations.
Poa said the defense would leave it to the senator-judges and the public to determine whether the evidence showed that corruption had occurred.
CAMP SEEKS TO PRESENT REBUTTAL EVIDENCE
The defense’s planned presentation remains subject to the impeachment court’s decision on whether it may introduce evidence related to the withdrawn articles.
The prosecution withdrew Articles I, III and IV of the impeachment complaint. Poa said the defense was concerned that testimony concerning confidential funds and alleged grave threats had already been presented before the articles were withdrawn.
The defense wants to call witnesses who could address the allegations, maintaining that its side should also be heard by the senator-judges.
However, Poa said the team was holding back details of its planned evidence to avoid preempting a possible court-approved presentation.
“I don’t want to preempt our presentation because we might still be allowed to present evidence,” he said.
DEFENSE AWAITS COURT RULING
Poa reiterated that the defense would defer to the impeachment court’s decision while preparing for possible objections from the prosecution.
The team has yet to disclose the full details of the witnesses or evidence it intends to present regarding the confidential funds.
The dispute over rebuttal evidence comes as the impeachment court considers the consequences of withdrawing the three articles, including how the defense may respond to evidence previously presented in connection with those allegations.
CONTEXT
The impeachment proceedings against Duterte include allegations involving the use of confidential funds. Questions surrounding acknowledgment receipts, signatures and names in related documents have become part of the controversy.
The prosecution’s withdrawal of Articles I, III and IV has prompted the defense to seek an opportunity to respond to evidence presented under those articles. Whether the defense will be allowed to present rebuttal evidence rests with the impeachment court.