A HOUSE trial spokesperson on Friday challenged the camp of impeached Vice President Sara Z. Duterte to produce the alleged recipients of P612.5 million in confidential and intelligence funds, like Mary Grace Piattos and Kokoy Villamin.
In a radio interview over Brigada, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said it is the House prosecution panel’s allegation that these funds were misused and that the recipients were fictitious as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
He said the NBI Questioned Documents Division has analyzed the signatures of the alleged recipients on acknowledgment receipts and reported to the House Committee on Justice that these were mostly done by one person.
“So inaantay po natin mag-produce po ang depensa, na pabulaanan. Sana ganun ‘yung inaantay natin ng mga sagot nila, na meron talagang Mary Grace Piatos, Kokoy Villamin,” he said.
He added that the Vice President’s defense lawyers should “provide personalities or identities of persons who have actually received the confidential funds, persons who have actually signed the acknowledgement receipts”
Alonto Adiong pointed out that the failure of the defense to produce the supposed recipients of millions of confidential and intelligence funds would prove the accuracy of the PSA and NBI findings.
“Otherwise, if you cannot produce and you cannot answer, these are the things that will stand out in the public’s consciousness. Makatotoo nga talaga ang sinasabi ng PSA na walang record at saka walang tao na nangangalan na ganito at saka yung mga signatures ay mukhang isa lang yung gumawa,” he stressed.
The Lanao del Sur lawmaker also questioned the decision of the defense to list the prosecution’s witnesses as its own witnesses, including former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Ramil Madriaga, the self-confessed bagman of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte.
He said apparently, the plan of the Vice President’s lawyers is to have these personalities as “hostile witnesses.”
“Well, strategy po nila ‘yun… In fact, in a regular trial court, meron naman din mga sinasabing hostile witness. Kung baga pinapresentan ng isang panig ay… i-presenta din ng kabilang panig as a hostile witness…So ‘yun nga ang tanong nga natin is… ‘Yung mga pinipresentahan, iprepresentahan ng mga witnesses ng prosecution ay gusto din nilang i-adapt na sarili nilang witnesses,” he said.
He asked the defense to produce its own evidence, including witnesses.
“That actually leaves a question in the public mind: Bakit ganon? Supposedly kung meron ka talagang contravening evidence, dapat ikaw ay mag-produce ng sariling witness para panindigan ang kanilang ebidensya,” Alonto Adiong said.
He said the strategy of the defense only shows that it cannot produce its own evidence to counter the impeachment charges against the Vice President.
“So that’s the strategy. It only speaks, it only validates and speaks about our observation…mukhang wala talaga silang mai- papakita na contravening evidence at wala ata silang mai-produce na mga testigo, maliban dun sa mga testigo na gusto nating ipresenta sa korte,” he said.
He added that the prosecution panel is ready to counter the apparently plan of the defense to make Trillanes, Madriaga and others as hostile witnesses.
“Ready naman po kung sa anong magiging takbo ng trial…ready ang house prosecution team,” Alonto Adiong emphasized.
