MANILA, Philippines – Tumutol ang depensa nitong Lunes sa pagkilala sa corporate documents ng JTC Group of Companies at Pikimong Pikimong Philippines Corporation, dahil sa naunang ruling na nagbukod sa dalawang kumpanya mula sa mga subpoena request.
Sa ika-27 araw ng impeachment trial ni Vice President Sara Duterte, dinidinig ng Senate impeachment court ang mga ebidensya sa alegasyon na nakapag-ipon siya ng unexplained wealth, hindi idineklara ang kanyang pagmamay-ari sa kumpanya, at nilabag ang pagbabawal sa pakikilahok sa negosyo.
Tumutol si defense lawyer Justin Nicol Gular sa pagkilala at pagpapatunay sa corporate documents sa summary na inihanda ni Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) witness Gerardo del Rosario.
“Before we stipulate, Your Honor, we would like first to object to the identification and authentication by the witness of corporate documents belonging to Pikimong-Pikimong Philippines and JTC Group of Companies,” ani Gular.
“I believe, Your Honor, and the presiding officer can recall, these were in fact excluded when the prosecution requested subpoenas for bank records and AMLC records pertaining to these documents,” dagdag niya.
“And the ruling of the presiding officer is that they are irrelevant as there is no established connection between the respondent and these corporations, Your Honor,” ani Gular.
Iginiit naman ni prosecution lawyer Erwin Matib na patutunayan ng prosekusyon ang koneksyon ni Duterte sa dalawang kumpanya.
“Your Honor, although the bank records, AMLA records, and BIR records of the two companies that were just named were disallowed in connection with our request for subpoena, we’d like to establish the connection between the vice president and these two companies through the testimony of this witness. So, the objection is actually premature,” aniya.
Nanindigan ang depensa na hindi nabanggit ang JTC at Pikimong Pikimong sa Articles of Impeachment laban kay Duterte.
“Number one, these companies were not indicated nor alleged in the Articles of Impeachment, which constitutes as the information in this impeachment trial. But second, Your Honor, we think, for consistency’s sake, this honorable court and the presiding officer has already ruled in the matter,” ani Gular.
“And there’s no distinction between bank records belonging to these corporations or corporate records belonging to these corporations,” dagdag niya.
Sinabi naman ni Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero na hindi kailangan ng prosekusyon ang testimonya ni Del Rosario para patunayan ang link ni Duterte sa dalawang kumpanya.
“Actually, you don’t need this witness to establish a link. You can simply allege and attach any proof you have pertaining to the vice president’s connection with these two corporations in your request for subpoena. And if at all it is presented and shown, you will allow it,” ani Escudero.
Bukod kay Del Rosario, nag-subpoena rin ang impeachment court kay Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte para tumestigo sa pagdinig nitong Lunes tungkol sa pakikitungo ng city government sa isa pang korporasyon na umano’y may kaugnayan sa kanyang kapatid.
‘Misleading’
Tumutol din ang depensa sa presentasyon ng audited financial statements, dahil pinalalabas na ang kabuuang halaga ay pag-aari ni Vice President Sara Duterte.
“The audited financial statements are made to appear as if these figures here belong to the vice president, when these in fact belong to the corporation. Because at the top portion of the page, it says, ‘Summary of Vice President Sara Duterte’s Shareholdings,'” ani ng depensa.
“But these reports do not belong to the vice president. These are the financial statements of the corporation,” dagdag pa niya.
Samantala, sumang-ayon si Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano na maaaring “misleading” ang mga dokumentong inihaharap.
“What is essential to this trial is fairness. If we are going to spend the whole morning and afternoon looking at these documents and the label is incorrect, it will, of course, prejudice the defense and the vice president,” aniya.
“If throughout this trial, or throughout this afternoon, the label is incorrect or misleading, what’s worse than a misleading question? It’s a misleading document that will be flashed on all the teleradyo and TV programs all this time,” dagdag ni Cayetano.
Nagpasya si Escudero na dapat baguhin ang titulo ng dokumento.
“I think what should be changed only is the title, because these are facts about the corporation,” aniya. Ernie Reyes
