MANILA, Philippines – Binigyang-diin ng isang miyembro ng prosecution panel sa impeachment trial ni Vice President Sara Duterte na bukod sa mababang antas ng kasiyahan ng publiko sa kanilang panig, ipinakita rin ng isang survey na marami ang nagnanais na personal na humarap at magpaliwanag ang bise presidente sa mga alegasyon laban sa kaniya.
Sa online interview nitong Biyernes, sinabi ni prosecution counsel Benjamin Tolosa Jr. na lumabas sa survey ng Social Weather Stations (SWS) na 78 porsiyento ng mga respondent na tinanong mula Setyembre 21 hanggang 27 ang nagsabing mahalagang personal na tumestigo si Duterte sa impeachment court.
“My understanding is with this last one, they ask questions from around 1500 people, I think. But of course, how can you say that this accurately reflects the opinion of all of the entire public? That’s why, maybe sometimes, the results that we’re getting are different from each other as conducted by these different survey agencies,” ani Tolosa.
“But I guess if I can add […] what piqued my attention also was that even though at that time we haven’t yet started unexplained wealth, the public already said — I think around 70 percent — what they want is that the vice president should appear in court herself and explain her side so that she could give clarity on these important charges,” dagdag niya.
Hindi pa humaharap si Duterte sa Senate impeachment court. Ang huli niyang pagpunta sa Senado ay noong Hulyo 7, nang makipagpulong siya sa kaniyang legal team. Hindi rin siya dumalo sa paglilitis na isinagawa nang araw na iyon.
Sa survey, 30 porsiyento lamang ng mga respondent ang nagsabing nasisiyahan sila sa prosecution, habang 35 porsiyento ang hindi nasisiyahan.
Naniniwala si Tolosa na maaaring magbago ang resulta kung isinagawa ang survey sa ibang panahon. Katulad ni prosecution spokesperson at Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, iginiit niya na hindi pa nailalahad ang mahahalagang ebidensiya laban kay Duterte noong isinagawa ang survey.
Ayon kay Tolosa, hindi pa noon natalakay ang mga dokumentong may kaugnayan sa Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) ni Duterte, ulat ng Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), at mga tax record mula sa Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
Idinagdag niya na noong Oktubre 9 lamang inilahad ni forensic financial analyst Atty. Alexander Cabrera ang kaniyang ulat na nagsasabing hindi umano idineklara ni Duterte sa kaniyang mga SALN mula 2022 hanggang 2025 ang yaman na nagkakahalaga ng hindi bababa sa ₱817.8 milyon.
“The period when it was conducted, I think it’s the third week of September, so again at that time it’s just, what has been presented were articles which have actually been dropped already. So that’s the basis for me saying that it appears that it’s stale already because again, at that time the article on unexplained wealth hasn’t even started yet,” paliwanag ni Tolosa.
“So we believe this (is the) article that’s easier for the public to follow and appreciate and digest and understand. Because we’re just talking about figures here, figures that are based on official records and which are compared against numbers supplied by the vice president herself. So these are the wealth that she declared in her SALN and the income that she declared in BIR,” dagdag niya.
Nauna nang sinabi ni lead public prosecutor at Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro na ang mga ebidensiyang nakalap at iniharap laban kay Duterte ay nagmula mismo sa kampo ng bise presidente.
Noong Setyembre 4, matapos ituro ng mga testigo si Duterte bilang taong nakaaalam kung paano ginamit ang confidential funds ng kaniyang mga tanggapan, sinabi naman ni Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. na maaaring panahon na upang hilingin sa Senate impeachment court na maglabas ng subpoena laban sa bise presidente. RNT/MDS
