A RETIRED Sandiganbayan presiding justice and officials of the Office of the Ombudsman and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are being lined up as the first witnesses when the House prosecution opens its unexplained wealth charge against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte on Sept. 14.
“We had submitted already our request to subpoena these three personalities for next week. So we will wait for the order para ma-subpoena po sila,” House impeachment prosecutor Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said at a press briefing on Thursday.
The prosecution asked the Senate impeachment court to subpoena retired Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, Ombudsman Records Division Officer-in-Charge Atty. Karen Batu and SEC Company Registration and Monitoring Department Director Atty. Gerardo del Rosario.
Ridon said Cabotaje-Tang is expected to discuss principles governing public accountability, integrity in public office and mechanisms for addressing undisclosed and unexplained wealth and prohibited business interests.
Batu would testify on Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth submitted to the Ombudsman, while Del Rosario would authenticate and identify records of companies linked to the Vice President and her husband, Atty. Manases “Mans” Carpio.
The prosecution expects to present the three in that order, subject to the impeachment court’s action on the subpoena requests and final arrangements on the day of presentation.
Ridon, who co-leads the Article II team with Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno, said prosecutors were completing the marking of additional documents Thursday as they prepare to begin the presentation of evidence on the unexplained wealth charge against Duterte.
“So hopefully by Monday, handang-handa na po kami sa lahat po ng mga documentary evidence at paglalahad po ng mga testigo,” Ridon said.
Article II accuses Duterte of betrayal of public trust for allegedly accumulating unexplained wealth disproportionate to her lawful income and failing to fully and truthfully disclose her assets and liabilities.
The prosecution is preparing more than 1,800 financial documents, including bank and tax records involving the Vice President, her spouse and their companies.
Ridon said other potential witnesses include Bureau of Internal Revenue personnel, bank representatives and officials from other government agencies.
Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV also remains on the prosecution witness list and could be presented in the coming weeks.
Prosecutors, however, may trim the witness list once they determine that sufficient evidence has been presented.
“Kung masapatan po kami doon sa mga nauna na pong nailahad, hindi naman po kailangang-kailangang ipwersa, halimbawa, ’yung iba pang mga testigo,” Ridon said.
The prosecution has also served Duterte’s defense with 104 requests for admission involving subpoenaed bank records. Admissions could dispense with the need to call as many as 15 bank representatives to authenticate the documents.
Ridon said the prosecution is targeting completion of Article II by the first or second week of October, whether or not the defense makes the requested admissions.
“The best target that you would want to have would be, again, to terminate it by the first or second week of October. So factored in na po ito, whether they will admit to these requests or not,” Ridon said.
Once prosecutors believe they have sufficiently established Article II, Ridon said they could move to the bribery charge or conclude the prosecution’s entire presentation of evidence.
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