THE House prosecution on Saturday said the first week of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s trial transformed the allegations under the fourth impeachment article into evidence, marking the start of its effort to prove before the Senate impeachment court the charge that the Vice President made grave threats against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said the prosecution has moved beyond the allegations laid out in the Articles of Impeachment and begun presenting evidence that has already withstood cross-examination.
“We saw first week as allegations turning into evidence. Every prosecution starts with allegations and must end with proof,” De Lima said during the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City.
Article IV of the impeachment complaint accuses Duterte of making grave threats and inciting sedition over her Nov. 23, 2024 remarks that she had supposedly contracted someone to kill President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez if she herself were killed.
The prosecution opened its case by presenting National Bureau of Investigation Senior Agent John Mark Calilung, whose testimony was intended to authenticate the video recordings containing Duterte’s statements.
“The first week was important because the prosecution started converting the allegations as contained in the Articles of Impeachment into evidence which was tested or which was subjected to cross-examination,” De Lima said.
She said Calilung’s testimony represented only the first step in proving the charge, emphasizing that each witness serves a distinct purpose in building the prosecution’s case.
“So hindi rin po ito nagtatapos sa isang testigo lang. Ang kabuuan po ng ebidensya, ang tunay na pundasyon ng isang kaso. Because every witness has a specific role to play,” De Lima said.
She said the prosecution will present additional witnesses to corroborate the authenticated recordings, explain the significance of the digital evidence and discuss the findings of the National Bureau of Investigation’s investigation.
“The first witness played his very important role of authenticating the videos,” De Lima said.
metrosundaily
