HOUSE trial spokesperson Zia Alonto Adiong of Lanao del Sur on Thursday expressed concern that the defense pre-trial brief filed on behalf of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte appears designed more to create confusion than to provide answers.
“A pre-trial brief should be a flashlight. It should shine light on the issues. It should help the court, the parties, and the Filipino people understand what the evidence is and what facts are actually in dispute,” Alonto Adiong said.
“Unfortunately, after reading this filing, many Filipinos may conclude that what was submitted is not a flashlight, but a smoke screen,” he said.
According to Alonto Adiong, the purpose of a pre-trial proceeding is to narrow issues, identify relevant evidence, and help ensure an orderly and efficient trial.
“Instead of bringing clarity, this filing appears to generate more questions than answers,” Alonto Adiong said.
“The public is not asking for more pages. The public is asking for explanations,” he said. “They want to know where public funds went.”
“They want to know how questioned expenditures will be explained,” he said.
“They want to know how allegations involving unexplained wealth will be addressed,” he said.
“They want to know how the evidence supporting the Articles of Impeachment will be rebutted,” according to Alonto Adiong.
“Those are the questions that matter. Those are the questions ordinary Filipinos have been asking for months,” Alonto Adiong said.
Alonto Adiong noted that despite the length of the filing and the large number of witnesses and documentary exhibits listed, the public remains unable to clearly identify how the vice president intends to answer the central allegations against her.
“If there are answers, the public expected to see at least a glimpse of them,” he said.
“If there are explanations, the public expects to see where they are headed,” Alonto Adiong said.
“If there is a factual defense to these allegations, the public expected to see the outline of that defense,” he said.
“Instead, what many see is a document that makes the issues more complicated without making them any clearer,” Alonto Adiong said.
The Mindanao House leader said the filing risks creating the impression that the objective is not to illuminate the truth but to bury it beneath volume and procedure.
“A flashlight helps people see. Smoke makes it harder to see. That is why many people are beginning to ask whether the goal here is to explain the allegations or simply to make them harder to follow,” he said.
Alonto Adiong stressed that the House prosecution panel fully respects the constitutional rights of the Vice President and supports her right to present her defense before the impeachment court.
“She deserves due process. She deserves every opportunity to answer the charges,” he said.
“But the Filipino people deserve answers as well. The Constitution protects the right to defend oneself. It also demands accountability from those entrusted with public office,” he said.
“The defense pre-trial brief was an opportunity to begin answering the people’s questions. Instead, it appears to have reinforced the reason why the impeachment trial must proceed,” according to him.
“Because after all the pages have been counted and all the exhibits have been listed, the same fundamental questions remain,” he said.
“And until those questions are answered, the Filipino people will continue to demand the truth,” Alonto Adiong said.
