MANILA, Philippines — Nanawagan ang House Prosecution Panel sa Senado at mga law enforcement agency na tiyakin ang seguridad ng mga ebidensiyang isinumite para sa impeachment trial ni Vice President Sara Duterte matapos ma-hack ang Senate website at kasunod ng ulat ng banta sa seguridad sa Senate building.
Ayon kay House lead impeachment prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro, hindi pa malinaw kung konektado ang mga insidente sa impeachment trial, ngunit binigyang-diin niyang nakatakda na ang unang pre-trial conference sa Hunyo 18.
“You know, it’s hard to speculate if this is connected to the impeachment trial. But what is clear is that we already have a schedule for our first pre-trial conference on June 18, which is this coming Thursday,” pahayag ni Luistro sa press conference.
“So I wish to express my concern about the security and safety of those who will be joining the filing of the pre-trial brief on Monday, and those who will be joining the conduct of the pre-trial conference on Thursday, as well as all the senators, even the defense team, and the officials and employees of the Senate who are staying in the premises,” dagdag niya.
Nanawagan si Luistro sa National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, at Philippine National Police na tiyakin ang kaligtasan at seguridad ng Senado at ng mga lugar sa paligid nito.
“If this is connected to the impeachment trial, then we have more reason to make sure that this will be addressed because this is a very significant process. This is a constitutional process that concerns the interests of every Filipino across the world,” ani Luistro.
“So whether connected or not, sana ay tutukan po ito ng ating mga katuwang sa paglilingkod mula sa law enforcement agencies,” dagdag pa niya.
Sinabi ni Luistro na nagsimula na ang House leadership ng komunikasyon upang magbigay ng kinakailangang seguridad sa mga prosecutor, witness, at ebidensiya kasunod ng ulat ng NBI at hacking sa official website ng Senado.
Nagpahayag din ng pangamba si Private Prosecutor Atty. Lorna Kapunan at sinabing kailangang protektahan ang mga dokumento at ebidensiya ng prosecution dahil karamihan sa documentary evidence ay naipadala na sa Senado.
“It’s a real concern as practicing lawyers… So we echo the concern of our head public prosecutor, Ma’am Jinky, that there should be measures to protect our documents kasi na-transmit lahat,” ani Kapunan.
“Speaking from an evidence point of view, we have to safeguard our evidence because the evidence from the House has been transmitted already,” dagdag niya.
Ayon kay Kapunan, kabilang sa pre-trial ang pre-marking ng documentary exhibits, habang binanggit niyang ang prosecution ay may “a room full of documentary exhibits, literally and figuratively.”
“We hope, well, we trust, that the Senate will provide protection, not only, especially for our people, but as well for the evidence in the impeachment case,” dagdag ni Kapunan. RNT
