THE recantation of several witnesses previously used to link former House Speaker Martin Romualdez to the flood control controversy could weaken the plunder case he now faces, although the effect of those reversals will ultimately have to be tested in court.
“Alam mo, ‘yun nga, doon sa mga ginamit na mga witnesses in the case filed against the former Speaker, apat hanggang lima doon sa kanila ay nag-recant. At ito I think magkakaroon ng impact doon sa resulta nitong trial,” House impeachment adviser and spokesperson Ace Barbers stressed.
The remarks came after the Office of the Ombudsman filed a plunder case against Romualdez before the Sandiganbayan in connection with alleged irregularities involving flood control projects, moving the controversy from investigation into formal court proceedings.
Some individuals whose earlier statements were cited in allegations linking the former Speaker to the controversy subsequently withdrew or contradicted those claims, making the evidentiary value of the recantations a question the prosecution and defense will have to litigate.
“What that impact will be, I have no idea. But I believe that this will definitely have a very strong impact because yung recantation nitong mga witnesses na ito ay mismo yung sinasabing may pagkakasangkot sa usapin ng flood control anomaly ang dating Speaker,” Barbers pointed out.
Barbers stopped short of predicting how the Sandiganbayan would ultimately assess the evidence but acknowledged that the withdrawals could materially affect the strength of the allegations confronting Romualdez.
“E since ito ay nag-recant, maaaring humina yung kanyang kaso na haharapin,” Barbers stressed.
House prosecutor and Manila Rep. Joel Chua separately emphasized that the Ombudsman operates independently of Congress and that the filing gives Romualdez the opportunity to formally answer the accusations against him.
“Well, we understand that the Office of the Ombudsman is an independent body separate from the legislative. So, we respect the findings of the Ombudsman at siyempre, we expect that the former Speaker will exhaust only the remedies to protect his right, especially his constitutional right,” Chua stressed.
“So, at least dito ay mabibigyan siya ng pagkakataon para masagot ang lahat ng mga alegasyon laban sa kanya,” Chua added.
Barbers noted that Romualdez had consistently maintained that he would cooperate with investigations and would now have the opportunity to challenge the evidence through the judicial process.
“Now that charges have already been filed, I am sure he is preparing his defense. At ito’y pinaghandaan niya sa ngayon,” Barbers stressed.
“Ika nga, he will be given a day in court, so to speak. So that if given a chance to defend himself magkakaroon tayo ng semblance of due process,” he added.
metrosundaily
