Gencorp counsel skips Sara Duterte impeachment trial on Nov. 9, cites medical reason

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The corporate counsel of Gencorp Industries Inc. will not attend Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial when it resumes on Monday, citing a scheduled medical examination.

According to House Lead Prosecutor Representative Gerville Luistro on Sunday, the prosecution team received a notice that Gencorp lawyer Suzette Balucang-Punay would be unable to attend the hearing due to a scheduled magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.

"That is correct, and the anticipated date for her presentation will be on Wednesday kasi ‘yung subpoena na na-issue sa kanya (Balucang-Punay) I believe is from Monday to Wednesday, but with the excuse of having this scheduled MRI, definitely, walasiya bukas,” Luistro told Super Radyo dzBB.

(The anticipated date for [Balucang-Punay’s] presentation will be on Wednesday. The subpoena issued to her, I believe, covers Monday to Wednesday. However, since she has a scheduled MRI, she will definitely not be attending tomorrow.)

The Senate impeachment court will convene at 10 a.m. on Monday, November 9. The Senate will then have a session in the afternoon and resume the trial after the session.

According to Luistro, the expected witnesses are engineer Jaime Adalin, Davao City assessor; engineer John Kenneth Enumerables, Island Garden City of Samal assessor; and Cindy Colina, barangay captain of Matina Crossing, Davao City.

READ: Defense lists initial witnesses in Sara Duterte impeachment trial

“So, our anticipation for the first witnesses on Monday… will dwell on the testimony of the Land Registration Authority,” Luistro said.

Meanwhile, law professor Dean Ralph Sarmiento, who was initially expected to testify for the defense in the impeachment trial, earlier withdrew as a witness, citing the need to preserve his independence and impartiality as a constitutional law expert.

"I have decided to decline participation as a witness in the proceedings. This is a personal decision to preserve the independence of my constitutional law scholarship and the impartiality of my legal views and opinions," Sarmiento said.

Luistro also expressed confidence that the defense would have a hard time challenging the prosecution's witnesses, saying their testimonies are evidence-based.

The prosecution has dropped three Articles of Impeachment, of which they were able to present evidence on Articles I and IV.

Article 1 tackles alleged misuse of confidential funds, Article 3 on alleged bribery of Department of Education officials during Duterte’s tenure as Education chief, and Article 4 on alleged threats against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Impeachment court presiding officer Sen. Francis Escudero, however, said the freedom to discuss the allegations in the withdrawn articles does not authorize the unrestricted disclosure or dissemination of the evidence presented in connection with them. —RF, GMA News