Prosecution drops Trillanes as witness

MANILA, Philippines — The prosecution camp of the House of Representatives has decided to forgo its plan to let former senator Antonio Trillanes IV take the witness stand in the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro manifested before the Senate impeachment court their consensus to do away with Trillanes’ scheduled testimony and to present witnesses from seven banks, several insurance firms and the Anti-Money Laundering Council next week.

“We seek the kind indulgence of the honorable impeachment court for the belated final position on this particular concern,” Luistro said.

Trillanes, an arch critic of the family of detained former president Rodrigo Duterte, was supposed to take the witness stand shortly after Davao Mayor Sebastian Duterte did, as prosecutors tried to establish and prove that the Vice President committed conflict of interest in her business dealings while in political office.

On social media, Trillanes said he requested the House prosecution panel to withdraw him as witness, adding that he would present his evidence in a press briefing instead.

“I have many new and serious pieces of evidence against Sara. Let the senator-judges and the people decide whether these are significant or not,” he added.

Sen. Raffy Tulfo criticized the prosecution for being “palpak” (sloppy) in its presentation of some witnesses, such as in Monday’s hearing when the panel presented a police firearms official and trying to link his testimony to Duterte’s alleged hidden wealth.

Without naming anyone, Tulfo chided the prosecution for fielding a public prosecutor who acted “cute” during the direct examination. –  Mark Ernest Villeza, Marc Jayson Cayabyab