THE strength of the impeachment prosecution’s case against Vice President Sara Duterte cannot be fully assessed until her lawyers have presented their own witnesses and documentary evidence, despite the prosecution’s previously expressed confidence that the remaining unexplained wealth charge could support a conviction.
House Lead Impeachment Prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro stressed Saturday that the Senate impeachment trial remains incomplete because only the prosecution’s evidence has been presented, making it premature to determine whether the senator-judges would eventually convict or acquit Duterte.
Luistro was responding to a question from the media at the Kapihan sa QC on allegations the prosecution dropped the three articles of impeachment against Duterte after securing the necessary votes of senator-judges for a conviction.
“We would like to deny that assertion because first of all hindi naman po kami privy dun sa magiging verdict,” Luistro emphasized.
Luistro explained that the prosecution has concluded presenting its evidence under Article II, but Duterte’s defense has yet to formally begin presenting its case when the proceedings resume on Nov. 9.
“Ang nakita lang ho natin, evidence ng prosecution. We haven’t seen the evidence of the defense,” Luistro pointed out.
The prosecution previously withdrew Article I involving confidential funds, Article III concerning bribery and Article IV involving grave threats, leaving allegations of unexplained wealth, inaccurate financial declarations and prohibited business interests as the only remaining impeachment charge.
The House panel concluded its presentation with the testimony of Forensic Accounting Expert Alexander Cabrera, who identified approximately P817.87 million in allegedly unexplained assets and income involving Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, although the defense has disputed the prosecution’s interpretation of the financial records.
“As soon as they have presented their evidence, at least for us, we can already assess whether the amount of evidence that we have can sustain a conviction, but that is for our internal discussion only,” Luistro clarified.
The prosecution chief distinguished the panel’s internal evaluation of its evidence from the authority of the Senate impeachment court, stressing that prosecutors cannot determine the outcome regardless of how strongly they believe in their case.
“Please take note ang trabaho po ng prosecution ay maglatag ng ebidensya,” Luistro explained.
Article XI of the Constitution expressly gives the Senate the sole power to try and decide impeachment cases, requiring the senator-judges to weigh the evidence and determine whether the constitutional requirements for conviction have been satisfied.
“It rests exclusively upon the Senate impeachment court to decide whether this impeachment trial will end on a conviction or in an acquittal,” Luistro stressed.
Her remarks underscore the prosecution’s acknowledgment that Duterte must be given the opportunity to challenge the allegations and present her defense before the senator-judges render a verdict on the remaining impeachment article.
metrosundaily
