Day 40: Sara Duterte impeachment trial enters crucial defense phase

MANILA (UPDATE) — The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte enters a new phase on Monday, November 9, as her defense team prepares to present its witnesses before the Senate impeachment court.

At the center of the upcoming hearings is a list of 24 proposed defense witnesses whose testimonies could shape the direction of the proceedings.

Senate impeachment court spokesperson Regie Tongol said the defense proposed to present the following individuals as witnesses from November 9 to 13:

• Suzette Balucanag-Punay — Corporate counsel of GenCorp Industries Inc. and Metro City Chow Foods Corp.

• Engr. Jaime Adalin – City Assessor, Davao City

• Engr. John Kenneth Enumerables – City Assessor, Island Garden City of Samal

• Vingelin Bajan – City Accountant, Davao City

• Cindy Colina – Barangay chairman of Matina Crossing, Davao City

• Vimar Barcellano – City Prosecutor, Quezon City

• Anel Martin Antero

• Chadrin Parian

• Bank executives of:

        – BDO Unibank Inc.

        – Bank of the Philippine Islands

        – EastWest Bank

        – Landbank of the Philippines

        – Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company

        – PSBank

        – UnionBank

Their appearances, former impeachment lawyer Tranquil Salvador III argued, are expected to fuel questions about whether Duterte herself will eventually take the witness stand.

The defense initially sought political and constitutional law professor Ralph Sarmiento as its first witness, but he declined.

Salvador had said the defense would likely use its witnesses to dispute the prosecution’s findings, explain financial transactions and other evidence, and put the allegations into context. 

The prosecution concluded its presentation of evidence in October, with its final witness, forensic financial analyst Alexander Cabrera estimating that Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, had at least P817.87 million in allegedly unexplained wealth and undeclared assets and income from 2022 to 2025.

But Duterte’s spokesperson Paolo Panelo Jr. on Saturday said the prosecution failed its chances in proving the Vice President’s guilt.

“We apparently live in two worlds… One world seeks the truth. The other desperately tries to persuade an increasingly skeptical public with asinine sound bites built on half-truths and malicious speculation, spewed out in daily, obtrusive, and nauseating press briefings and interviews… The prosecution had its chance. It failed. On Monday, the Vice President begins her defense,” Panelo said.

Ahead of the defense’s presentation, House lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro responded to Panelo’s tirade and maintained that they presented substantial evidence to support their allegation.

“Napakatibay ng ebidensya ng prosecution, most especially dito sa naiwang article, unexplained wealth. I’m saying that because our evidence is document based. How do you dispute the evidence? Kung ang mga dokumentong ito ay nanggaling mismo sa respondent Vice President,” Luistro told DZMM Teleradyo.

The impeachment court has issued an advisory scheduling trial proceedings from Monday to Friday next week.

The current trial calendar runs until November 23, with no schedule for December set so far.