Sara Duterte defense faces uphill battle as impeachment trial resumes — ex-IBP chief

MANILA — The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte faces an uphill battle in her impeachment trial, a former Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) president said after two witnesses backed out on Monday. 

Former IBP president Domingo Cayosa said the defense should focus on addressing the factual allegations presented by the prosecution, particularly the bank records and financial transactions involving Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.

Speaking on ANC’s Headstart on Monday, Cayosa said the withdrawal of two witnesses at the start of the defense’s presentation was an unfavorable development for the vice president’s camp.

“Well, it is very unfortunate for the defense. It seems they’re starting on the wrong foot. With key witnesses backing out, it doesn’t bode well for the defense,” Cayosa said.

He was referring to the withdrawal of the defense’s first listed witness, law professor Ralph Sarmiento, and the decision of a counsel of GenCorp Industries, a Davao-based corporation linked to businesses allegedly associated with the Duterte couple, to skip Monday’s proceedings due to medical reasons.

Cayosa said the defense should quickly reorganize its witness lineup, especially since only one charge remained to be addressed by the defense.

“It’s either they are not prepared, which I doubt because the counsels for the defense are very professional, or their witnesses are backing out because they couldn’t perhaps fulfill what they’re being asked to testify on,” he said.

“And as litigation lawyers, we would expect the defense to rebut the factual matters that the competent witnesses of the prosecution had earlier revealed to the impeachment court. So, ‘yung mga opinion, mga ganyan, hindi na masyadong importante ‘yan. The law, what the law says, the impeachment court takes judicial notice of that,” he added.

Cayosa questioned whether the defense could still find witnesses capable of directly challenging the financial documents already presented by the prosecution.

The Senate impeachment court recently admitted Duterte’s SALNs, bank transaction records, corporate documents, tax records and other financial evidence involving the vice president and Carpio. It also admitted the financial forensic report of prosecution witness Alexander Cabrera, which estimated the couple’s alleged unexplained wealth at P817.88 million. 

However, the court clarified that admitting the documents did not mean it had accepted the prosecution’s allegations as true. 

Cayosa said the defense might have difficulty challenging bank records through witnesses who were not directly involved in the transactions.

“So ‘yung may-ari ng bank account lang ang natitira. Ang problema diyan is kapani-paniwala ba ‘yung sasabihin na hindi nila alam,” he said.

He added that bank branch managers who testified for the prosecution were more competent to explain the transactions than bank executives who might not have direct knowledge of the accounts.

He also pointed to the possibility of calling Carpio to testify, given that the prosecution’s evidence includes financial records under his name.

“If he has knowledge or information to debunk what has been presented by the prosecution, and he should kasi sila may-ari ng account eh, edi magsalita sila,” he said.

Cayosa said Duterte herself should consider taking the witness stand, describing her testimony as an opportunity to directly address the allegations against her.

“This is the only forum that she has. So kinakailangan at maganda sana kung marinig siya ng taumbayan, including her supporters, ‘yung mga wala pang desisyon, pati ‘yung hindi na naniniwala sa kanya,” he said.

The defense is now expected to present its evidence and witnesses on the remaining charge as the impeachment trial resumes on Nov. 9.