MANILA, Philippines – Mahigit sa 30 testigo umano ang ihaharap ng Prosecution Team sa kabuuan ng impeachment trial ni Vice President Sara Duterte.
Ito ang kinumpirma nina lead prosecutor at House Committee on Justice Chairperson Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro sa isang press conference habang pinaghahandaan aniya ng kaniyang grupo ang paghahain ng pre-trial brief sa Senate impeachment court.
“It is more than 25. The witnesses is not only 25, it’s not only 30, it’s even more,” ani Luistro.
Paliwanag ni Luistro na pinalawak aniya ng prosecution team ang bilang ng mga testigo upang matiyak na lahat ng kaukulang testimonya ay mailalabas sa panahon ng pagdinig dahil maaari aniyang hindi makapagbigay ng testimonya ang mga testigo na hindi maihahain sa pre-trial conference.
“In fact, it applies not only to witnesses, it applies even to documents which are not yet available during the conduct of pre-trial. In simple terms, the parties are allowed to make a reservation in the pre-trial brief and during the pre-trial conference, provided we give a reasonable description of who this witness is, what will be the nature of the testimony, and what is the purpose to be achieved by presenting this witness.”
Kabilang aniya sa mga ito ay ang mga kinatawan ng bangko at bank records ma matagal ng ikinunsidera bilang ebidensya sa pagdinig.
“We have no communication with the bank officials, but since the proceeding in the Justice Committee, it has always been the intention of the House of Representatives to include the bank representatives and the bank documents among the evidence which will be presented by the prosecution team,” dagdag pa ng mambabatas.
Nagpapatuloy aniya ang paghahanda ng prosecutors sa maraming dokumento at ebidensya para sa Articles of Impeachment kabilang ang diumano’y paglustay sa confidential funds at umano’y hindi maipaliwanag na yaman ni VP Duterte.
Nakatakda ang pre-trial conference sa June 18, ilang araw bago ang simula ng impeachment trial sa July 6. (Meliza Maluntag)
