MANILA, Philippines – Pinag-aaralan ng ilang miyembro ng House prosecution panel ang posibleng pagpapakilala ng hostile witnesses sa Senate impeachment trial ni Vice President Sara Duterte.
“When you’re presenting a hostile witness, there has to be an adverse interest. So naturally, in a case like this that’s adversarial in nature, the adverse interest would mean an interest that is in line with that of the other party. That means an interest that is in line with the Vice President,” pahayag ni House impeachment prosecutor Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez ng 1-Rider Party-list sa panayam nitong Biyernes, Mayo 22.
“That is definitely a possibility under consideration. As far as we understand, based on the rules of the Senate, if it’s going to apply the rules of evidence suppletorily, pwede naman po yon. So that’s definitely one of the avenues we are exploring. In fact, I could think of a few witnesses that I personally would like to have as a hostile witness,” dagdag ni Gutierrez.
“Well, meron din. But for now, hindi pa namin po pwede i-divulge yung mga magiging legal strategy namin,” sinabi naman ni Rep. Joel Chua, miyembro rin ng prosekusyon.
Tumanggi namang tukuyin nina Gutierrez at Chua ang hostile witnesses ngunit sinabi na higit sa isa ang ikinokonsidera.
“We’re sure that we’re still exploring, but I can think of at least three to four hostile witnesses,” ayon kay Gutierrez.
Nang tanungin kung ang mga witness ay malapit sa Bise Presidente, sinabi ni Chua na, “Definitely.”
“Pero siyempre, titingnan din naman namin kung makaka-damage ba sa amin iyong pagharap ng mga hostile witness o makakatulong sa amin,” dagdag ni Chua.
Tinanong naman kung ang pagiging malapit ng posibleng witness ay nasa personal o professional na lebel, tugon ni Gutierrez:
“Both would be a factor when you are going to present someone as an adverse witness. But I think more that we are leaning on professional interest.” RNT/JGC
