Poa: Is there something wrong with going to China?

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Attorney Michael Poa asked what was wrong with going to China after another one of the defense team's witnesses at Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial was grilled about making a trip there.

On Tuesday, Davao City Accountant Vingelin Bajan was asked about a visit to China she had made. This follows Monday's witness, Davao City Assessor Jaime Adalin, who was grilled about trips to China last year and earlier this year.

“I guess the question is, may masama ba sa pagpunta ng China? [Is there something wrong about going to China?] I think that's the question, but I don't want to give the answer, because again that's up to the senator-judges to determine and it's up to their appreciation kung may problema ba na pumunta ng China itong mga witnesses [whether there's a problem with these witnesses going to China],” Poa said in a press briefing following the trial session on Tuesday.

Poa said that it was ultimately up to the witnesses to answer questions about their trip and where the funds for these trips came from, whether it was their own personal money or if it was a trip sponsored by the Chinese government.

The defense would want their witnesses to answer questions straight, Poa said.

During Monday’s trial session, senator-judges had questioned Adalin for his trip to China, many details of which he said he did not remember. While he initially said he could not remember any trip to China, he later confirmed that he had made a trip together with other city department heads.

Adalin had also been grilled by senator-judges for his apparent inability to recall specific details about the trip, including where he traveled to specifically.

Duterte’s spokesperson Paolo Panelo has already defended Adalin, saying that his trips to China had nothing to do with his credibility as a witness.

“Ano namang kinalaman ng credibility ng isang government official kung meron siyang official trip to China? Para sa akin, wala,” Panelo said.

(What does a government official’s credibility have to do with an official trip to China? In my view, nothing.)— BM, GMA News

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