Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno
FILIPINOS are not merely watching Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s unexplained wealth trial from the sidelines because the allegations involve money and financial interests that prosecutors say must be examined through the lens of public accountability.
“’Yung mga nanonood na mga kababayan natin ay hindi lang sila spectator. Sila ay nanonood dahil ‘yung pera na nanggagaling sa kanilang buwis, sin tax, VAT, income tax, ay ‘yun ang involved dito sa issue ng unexplained wealth,” House prosecutor and Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno told the Senate Impeachment Court.
Diokno made the argument while defending the prosecution’s presentation of retired Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang as an expert witness before the financial and documentary evidence under Article II is presented.
The prosecution maintains that the public must be able to understand the legal concepts surrounding unexplained wealth, Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), financial interests, beneficial ownership and conflicts of interest to meaningfully follow the evidence against Duterte.
“Nanonood ang sambayanang Pilipino dahil pera nila ang involved dito,” Diokno stressed.
Article II accuses Duterte of accumulating wealth allegedly disproportionate to her lawful income, failing to fully disclose assets and financial interests and continuing to participate in business despite constitutional restrictions imposed on the Vice President.
The prosecution has obtained more than a thousand pages of bank, tax and other financial records through subpoenas issued by the impeachment court and is expected to call officials who will authenticate and explain those documents in the coming hearings.
Diokno argued that merely making those documents publicly accessible would not amount to meaningful transparency if ordinary Filipinos could not understand what the records and legal concepts surrounding them actually mean.
“Real transparency, if your honors please, is not just about livestreaming this trial…real transparency means that the people can understand what is happening,” Diokno stressed.
He said even lawyers can find the statutory and constitutional framework on public accountability difficult to navigate, making it necessary for the prosecution to explain why particular financial records are relevant before asking the senator-judges to weigh them against Duterte’s declarations.
“Justice cannot be done if the law is obscure. Kung ‘di malinaw sa judge kung ano ang ipinagbabawal ng batas, paano magiging makatarungan ang kaniyang paghuhusga?” Diokno asked.
“Kung hindi malinaw sa sambayanang Pilipino kung ano ang pinagbabawal ng batas, paano nila malalaman kung dapat mapanagot ang respondent dito sa kasong ito?” Diokno added.
metrosundaily
