Sara Duterte impeachment trial: Lacson remarks on 'too technical' defense strategy

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Senator Panfilo Lacson on Monday remarked that the defense seemed to be focusing on too "technical" or minute details, perhaps in a bid to make it appear that proof beyond a reasonable doubt is required, but with the result being that much of it is not registering.

“The way probably and probably some of the non-lawyers among the senator judges, particularly my seatmate, Senator [Lito] Lapid, understand the questions posited by the defense counsel is that the objective of the cross[-examination] was to create an iota of doubt, no matter how technical and small, to create impression that the threshold of establishing guilt is beyond reasonable doubt , which I believe, is not the case in this impeachment trial,” Lacson said.

He was referring to the proof beyond reasonable doubt that is required for conviction in a criminal case, which is different from the requirements for conviction in an impeachment case.

Lacson made the manifestation after defense counsel Robert Narvasa’s cross-examination of Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) Division Chief Rendell Sopeña.

Sopeña is a witness for Article 2 of the Articles of Impeachment, which accuses the Vice President of accumulating unexplained wealth through the following:

• failure to fully and truthfully disclose all her and her spouse's assets, liabilities, and net worth in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) including in her SALN for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024; and
• failure to divest, and instead, willfully continued, all her business interests during her tenure as vice president for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Narvasa asked the PhilGeps official about the bidding process, questions which were consistently objected to by House lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro of Batangas since the PhilGeps is a repository of government contracts and has no mandate to oversee bidding processes.

“Let me clarify, na hindi po ito pre-judgment. Ang hangad ko lang po is baka pwede mag-adjust kayo ng inyong defense strategy kasi I can speak for myself, pagdating sa masyadong technical at ‘yung impression na nagsisilip lang ng napakaliit na butas, mukhang hindi po nag-reregister,” Lacson said.

(Let me clarify that this is not pre-judgment, My goal is that maybe you can adjust your defense strategy because when it comes to too technical issues, and the impression of just nitpicking, it doesn’t quite register.)

“A lot of good points have been raised in this trial. But we are talking among ourselves. Our observation is that parang pong hindi masyadong [nag]re-register, para bang napakaliit na butas na masyadong technical. Medyo hindi po tumatalab,” Lacson added.

(Our observation is, it’s concerns a molehill, if not too technical. It doesn’t make a dent.) — BM, GMA News

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