THE House prosecution on Tuesday said the defense failed to weaken its case against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, arguing that its cross-examination focused on documentary issues instead of the alleged threats at the center of the impeachment trial.
House prosecutor Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry L. Ridon said questions about discrepancies in Department of Justice (DOJ) documents did not change the prosecution’s claim that Duterte threatened President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.
“Even if they had raised document discrepancies on cross, it did not diminish the threat itself,” Ridon said in a press conference.
“Ang pinag-uusapan pa rin po natin dito ay ‘yung banta ng Pangalawang Pangulo sa Pangulo, sa House Speaker, at sa First Lady. Hindi ho nagbabago ’yun,” he added.
The remarks came as the defense continued its cross-examination of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc, the prosecution’s second witness on the fourth article of impeachment.
The article accuses Duterte of making grave threats and committing betrayal of public trust over her Nov. 23, 2024 remarks in which she said she had instructed someone to kill the President, the First Lady and the former Speaker should she herself be killed.
Ridon maintained that the defense’s focus on documentary details did not affect the prosecution’s evidence or theory of the case.
“So we let them nitpick on all of these documents, no problem. Kasi hindi ho nagbabago ’yung fact na meron pong pagbabanta,” he said.
The defense is expected to conclude its cross-examination of Lotoc on Tuesday, after which the prosecution is expected to conduct its redirect examination before the NBI official is excused from the witness stand.
metrosundaily
