Prosecution may drop bribery raps to expedite impeach trial – Luistro

MANILA, Philippines — Article III or the bribery allegation against Vice President Sara Duterte may be dropped to expedite the impeachment trial and allow the prosecution to raise before the court other issues, Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said on Thursday.

In an ambush interview after a committee hearing at the House of Representatives, Luistro — lead public prosecutor — confirmed that dropping Article III of the Articles of Impeachment is being considered to expedite the proceedings to give the Senate impeachment court some breathing room.

She, however, also noted that since Article I or the alleged misuse of confidential funds touched on the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) already, they may skip Article III since it deals with claims that Duterte bribed DepEd procurement officials.

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“We do not want to drag this impeachment trial too much because we understand that somehow naapektuhan ‘yong buhay ng mga Pilipino and even the focus of the parties concerned […] Narinig natin ‘yong manifestation ni Presiding Officer na talagang medyo challenged na sila considering that three important functions are being addressed by the Senate at the same time,” Luistro told reporters.

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(We do not want to drag this impeachment trial too much because we understand that somehow it affects the lives of Filipinos and even the focus of the parties concerned […] We heard the manifestation of the Presiding Officer that they are being challenged considering that three important functions are being addressed by the Senate at the same time.)

“I’m not saying that it is the weakest, but you see it pertains as well to […] DepEd to be very specific, ‘no?  Ito ‘yong payola envelops na inimbestigahan din ng House of Representatives, no?  So, lahat sila ay malakas, lahat sila ay strong, but we have this confidential fund already na pertaining to both the OVP and DepEd.  Siguro, we focus on something else as part of our consideration,” she added.

(I’m not saying that it is the weakest, but you see it pertains as well to […] DepEd to be very specific, right?  These are about the payola envelopes that the House of Representatives investigated.  So, all of them are strong, but we have this confidential fund already pertaining to both the OVP and DepEd.  Maybe, we can focus on something else as part of our consideration.)

Luistro said it is also a measure of being confident about the evidence and testimonies that they have presented for both Article I and Article IV or the allegation that Duterte betrayed public trust when she issued grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his relatives.

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She clarified that they are also confident about the bribery allegations, but it eventually boils down to time constraints and their goal of presenting something different from Article I.

“It is a validation na confident kami do’n sa grave threat, confident kami dito sa confidential fund, and as a matter of fact, we are equally confident pagdating dito sa unexplained wealth,” Luistro said.

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(It is a validation that we are confident about the grave threat, confident with the confidential fund misuse, and as a matter of fact, we are equally confident when it comes to unexplained wealth.)

“Well, it does not discount the fact that we are similarly confident with bribery, kaya lang it concerns the same irregularities in the same agency which is the Department of Education. But I just want to point out, no official decision yet,” she added.

On Wednesday,  Manila Rep. Joel Chua confirmed in an ambush interview that the prosecution panel is considering to refrain from presenting Article III.

READ: House prosecution panel mulls dropping bribery case vs Sara Duterte

In a press briefing later that day, Chua clarified that the bribery allegation against Duterte remain strong, noting that the only reason why the prosecution panel has considered this article as expendable is due to priorities and a yearning to expedite the trial.

READ: Chua: Bribery case vs Sara Duterte remains strong

Chua explained that if they push through with the withdrawal of Article III, this will be similar to what the prosecution panel for the impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona did.

However, Chua also stressed that this is not a new matter, reminding the public that they said before that if the prosecution is satisfied with the evidence and testimonies at hand, they will let go of one article.

Of the four Articles of Impeachment, the prosecution has finished presenting evidence for Article IV, and is on track to finish Article I by September 9.

A total of 10 witnesses have been presented by the prosecution team for Article I.  On Wednesday, the panel presented former Education Undersecretary Michael Poa, who also happens to be a member of the defense panel.

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Prior to Poa, the prosecution panel presented two Land Bank of the Philippines officials from which the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and DepEd withdrew their CFs; state auditors who checked on the confidential expenditures made by Duterte’s offices; OVP staffers like former special disbursing officer Gina Acosta; and on Tuesday, two Philippine Army (PA) officials. /gsg