MANILA, Philippines – Pinuna ni Senador Panfilo Lacson nitong Lunes, Setyembre 28 ang tila pagtutok ng depensa sa mga teknikal na detalye.
“The way probably and probably some of the non-lawyers among the senator judges, particularly my seatmate, Senator [Lito] Lapid, understand the questions posited by the defense counsel is that the objective of the cross[-examination] was to create an iota of doubt, no matter how technical and small, to create impression that the threshold of establishing guilt is beyond reasonable doubt , which I believe, is not the case in this impeachment trial,” sinabi ni Lacson.
Ang tinutukoy niya ay ang proof beyond reasonable doubt na kailangan para sa conviction sa isang criminal caase, na iba sa kailangan para sa conviction naman sa impeachment case.
Ito ang naging manipestasyon ni Lacson maapos ang cross examination ni defense counsel Robert Narvasa kay Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) Division Chief Rendell Sopeña.
Si Sopeña ay witness para sa Article 2 ng Articles of Impeachment, na nag-aakusa kay Duterte sa pagkakaroon ng unexplained wealth sa pamamagitan ng mga sumusunod:
failure to fully and truthfully disclose all her and her spouse’s assets, liabilities, and net worth in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) kabilang ang kanyang SALN para sa mga taong 2022, 2023 at 2024; at failure to divest, and instead, willfully continued, all her business interests during her tenure as vice president for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Tinanong ni Narvasa ang opisyal ng PhilGeps tungkol sa biddin process na tinutulan naman ni House lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro ng Batangas dahil ang PhilGeps ay repository lamang ng government contracts at walang mandato na pangasiwaan ang bidding process.
“Let me clarify, na hindi po ito pre-judgment. Ang hangad ko lang po is baka pwede mag-adjust kayo ng inyong defense strategy kasi I can speak for myself, pagdating sa masyadong technical at ‘yung impression na nagsisilip lang ng napakaliit na butas, mukhang hindi po nag-reregister,” sinabi ni Lacson.
“A lot of good points have been raised in this trial. But we are talking among ourselves. Our observation is that parang pong hindi masyadong [nag]re-register, para bang napakaliit na butas na masyadong technical. Medyo hindi po tumatalab,” dagdag ni Lacson. RNT/JGC
