THE House prosecution panel will continue presenting corporate and procurement records under the impeachment article involving Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth, spokesperson Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said over the weekend.
Alonto Adiong said the panel has already called witnesses from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and PhilGEPS.
The next hearing ia expected to include the defense’s cross-examination of the PhilGEPS witness before prosecutors move to their remaining witnesses.
“We are continuing to present witnesses under Article II of the unexplained wealth,” Alonto Adiong told the Saturday News Forum at Dampa Restaurant in Quezon City.
The SEC testimony covered company filings connected with business interests declared in Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
The PhilGEPS witness authenticated procurement records, including 49 awards totaling ₱35.88 million to Gencorp Industries Inc., which allegedly appeared in Duterte’s SALNs.
“Ang naipresenta na po natin last week are the witnesses from the SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, pati na rin po ang PhilGEPS,” Alonto Adiong said.
The prosecution treats those documents as separate parts of its evidentiary presentation.
Corporate sales are not automatically Duterte’s personal income, and government awards do not, by themselves, establish irregularity.
Prosecutors are asking the impeachment court to compare the official records with Duterte’s declarations and the constitutional restrictions applicable to a Vice President.
“We expect that there will be a cross-examination doon po sa ating pinresenta na witness from PhilGEPS,” said Alonto Adiong.
He also said the panel expects Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte to appear after the impeachment court issued a subpoena.
The prosecution plans to question him about alleged city contracts awarded to a company appearing in the Vice President’s SALNs.
“We expect him to be present. It’s either on Monday or Tuesday to be presented by the prosecution panel,” Alonto Adiong said.
He also addressed the impeachment court’s ruling on the voting threshold required to convict the respondent Vice President, saying the court neither changed the constitutional fraction nor set a fixed number of votes required for conviction.
“It is not lowering the number of the senators who can vote,” he said.
The ruling applies two-thirds to senator-judges who remain legally and factually capable of participating when judgment is rendered.
“Hindi po binababa dahil fixed na po talaga ang two-thirds,” Alonto Adiong said.
For the prosecution, the ruling does not alter the burden of presenting records and testimony supporting the articles of impeachment.
“The Senate has already taken jurisdiction over the impeachment case,” Alonto Adiong said. “It has to proceed.”
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