Luistro to formalize dropping of bribery rap in VP impeach trial – Chua

MANILA, Philippines – Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro is expected to deliver the prosecution team’s manifestation formally dropping the bribery charge in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, Manila Rep. Joel Chua said on Sunday.

Chua said the prosecution panel “will make a manifestation tomorrow” concerning the decision to no longer pursue the bribery charge, which hinged on the testimony of former Department of Education (DepEd) officials who said they received cash envelopes through Duterte’s subordinate.

“It will be manifested orally by Chair Jinky,” he said, referring to Luistro by her nickname. 

Article continues after this advertisement

The decision to abandon the bribery charge against Duterte comes as her trial enters its 14th week.

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

In September, prosecutors said they were studying whether to pursue the allegation that the vice president bribed officials to persuade DepEd officials to bypass procurement rules in her stint as education secretary.

READ: Sara Duterte impeachment: Prosecution to drop bribery charge – Chua

Former DepEd procurement chief Gloria Jumamil-Mercado testified during a 2024 congressional inquiry that she received monthly envelopes containing P50,000 for nine months.

Former bidding committee chairman Resty Osias similarly recalled receiving packets with P12,000 to P15,000 between April to Sept. 2023. 

Article continues after this advertisement

“These are people who actually received money. They [would have] testified that it came from the person being charged in this particular case,” Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores, who heads the team assigned to present the bribery count, said. “What was the reason they were given cash?” 

He said the House of Representatives’ probe showed that “they were given by people who are directly under the control and supervision of the vice president, and that they were informed it came from the vice president.” 

Article continues after this advertisement

Talks concerning the bribery count had been underway since September, after prosecutors finished presenting a claim that Duterte allegedly misused P612.5 million in confidential funds, according to a person familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity. 

And the decision was settled last week amid witness issues and after Duterte’s lawyers declined to admit her bank records into evidence, the person said, who added that Luistro was initially set to submit the formal manifestation Friday last week before proceedings were abruptly cancelled. 

‘All cards on the table’

Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, a prosecution spokesman, said the panel “laid all the cards on the table” in weighing whether to continue with the bribery claim or drop the charge entirely. 

Though the calculus shifted after prosecutors confronted a vast volume of financial documents tied to the unexplained wealth charge, which they have been presenting in court since last month, he said. 

“There are some prosecutors who are not, at that point in time during the initial discussion, into dropping the allegation,” said Alonto Adiong. “They said: let’s see what will be the flow of Article II.” 

Former lawmaker Robert Ace Barbers, now an adviser to the prosecution panel, said he was among those who initially opposed dropping the bribery count after a public opinion poll showed that nearly half of all Filipinos viewed it as the most serious charge against Duterte. 

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.

“Although now, I realize that to abbreviate the proceedings, there’s logic to dropping it,” he said, adding that the present case “is strong enough already and substantiated and sufficient in securing a conviction.”   /gsg