Luistro asks: Did defense fail to consult witness before seeking subpoena?

MANILA, Philippines — Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro has asked whether Vice President Sara Duterte’s lawyers failed to consult a former law school dean before asking for a subpoena to present him as a witness for the impeachment trial.

Luistro posed the question as the academician begged off.

She said on Thursday that she is surprised to hear that former University of St. La Salle (USLS) law school dean Ralph Sarmiento declined to testify as a defense witness for Duterte’s impeachment.

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But what was even more shocking for her was the defense’s supposed failure to reach out to Sarmiento before even considering him.

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“We should respect the position of Dean Ralph Sarmiento. In fact, what he did impressed me very much,” Luistro said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel’s Headstart.

“And I’m quite surprised that it seems that the defense did not reach out to him prior to filing the motion for issuance of subpoena to this witness,” she noted.

“It’s important as well that you know the position of the person, of the would-be witness, whether he or she will be willing to testify,” she added.

The prosecution had previously presented hostile witnesses – former Office of the Vice President special disbursing officer Gina Acosta and Duterte’s brother, Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte.

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Luistro said that hostile witnesses do not have to be consulted before they are asked to appear because they do not have to agree with a panel’s stance.

“I was shocked as to how could they have filed this motion for issuance of subpoena without knowing first the position or the willingness of the would-be witness to testify, unless he is intended to be presented as a hostile witness, which happened to us for Gina Acosta, for Mayor Baste,” she recalled.

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On Wednesday, Duterte’s lawyers informed the Senate Impeachment Court that Sarmiento will be its first witness to dispute the prosecution’s evidence for Article II of the Articles of Impeachment.

This part is on the allegation that Duterte has unexplained wealth that she failed to declare in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).

Sarmiento is a legal scholar who previously questioned the Senate impeachment court’s decision to amend its earlier ruling on the threshold for conviction.

He was formally requested to testify and present documentation verifying his credentials once the trial resumes on November 9.

READ: VP Duterte camp taps legal academic to counter unexplained wealth charge

However, Sarmiento announced on Thursday morning that he declined to testify as a defense witness, saying that he cannot be a “witness for either side.”

He cited the need to preserve the independence of his constitutional law scholarship and the impartiality of his legal opinions.

Still, Sarmiento thanked Duterte’s defense team for recognizing the value of his constitutional and legal analyses, which he had shared on social media.

He said that he did not anticipate that his views “might potentially become part of the impeachment proceedings.”

READ: Duterte impeachment: Ex-law school dean declines to testify for defense

Defense panel member and spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa said they respect Sarmiento’s decision to decline the invitation to testify for the defense.

READ: Sara Duterte’s lawyers: We respect Sarmiento’s refusal to testify

The prosecution panel originally listed four charges in its Articles of Impeachment against Duterte.

However, last October 13 — before trial adjourned — Luistro said they were withdrawing three of the four articles, leaving Article II as the lone case.

While the prosecution maintained that all articles are equally strong, it admitted that public perception favors Article II since numbers do not lie. 

Last October 30, Luistro, in an online interview, reminded the public that the evidence presented by the prosecution for Article II consists of documents from Duterte’s camp.

By saying that documents came from Duterte, Luistro was referring to the vice president’s official disclosures like her SALN, bank and tax records from the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

The lead prosecutor was also pointing to the documents of the vice president’s business interests under the Securities and Exchange Commission.

READ: Documents vs VP in impeachment trial came from her camp, says prosec

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Based on these documents, the prosecution’s witness, forensic financial analyst Atty. Alexander Cabrera, concluded that Duterte failed to declare at least P817.8 million worth of wealth in her SALNs from 2022 to 2025. /apl