MANILA, Philippines – Ipinaalis ni Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero nitong Miyerkules, Nobyembre 11, mula sa rekord ang “absurd” remark na binanggit sa paglilitis kaugnay sa diskusyon ng mga findings ni financial forensic analyst Atty. Alexander Cabrera.
Sa ika-42 araw ng impeachment trial, inilarawan kasi ni defense witness Atty. Suzette Balucanag-Punay, in-house counsel para sa Gencorp Industries, Inc. at Metro City Chow Foods Corporation, ang findings ni Cabrera na may 20% ownership si Vice President Sara Duterte sa GenCorp Industries bilang “absurd.”
“This is inaccurate, sir… It is inconsistent from the records of the corporation,” ani Punay.
“Because the total amount paid up for corporate records is just P1,250,000. And I do not know what will happen if we add 20% because, according to the forensic report, Sara has 20%, then the amount paid would be P1.5 million. So I don’t know where to put it. Sorry,” dagdag pa niya.
Nang tanungin ni defense counsel Justin Gular kung paano niya ilalarawan ang sitwasyon, sumagot ang witness ng, “It’s absurd.”
Agad namang hiniling ni private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan na maalis sa rekord ang komento ni Punay.
“Absurd based on what, Your Honor? Absurd is a conclusion. It is a conclusion of fact, conclusion of law, and more than that, it is an opinion. I can also say that her testimony is absurd, Your Honor, for the same reason,” sinabi ni Kapunan.
“To call a witness’ testimony ‘absurd’ without basis is badgering our witness,” tugon naman ng defense lawyer.
Nakialam na si Escudero sa palitan ng pahayag ng mga counsel at iniutos na alisin ang komentong “absurd” sa rekord ng witness at ni Kapunan.
Nilinaw naman ni Kapunan na hindi niya sinabing ang pahayag ni Punay ay “absurd.”
“You can say but you did not say, but we already heard. That will be stricken off from the record too to be fair,” sinabi ni Escudero. RNT/JGC
