Subpoena for Sonny Trillanes has yet to be issued -- court spox

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The Senate impeachment court has yet to issue a subpoena to former senator Antonio Trillanes IV to testify in connection with Article 2 of the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, Senate Impeachment Court spokesperson Reginald Tongol said Sunday.

Tongol made the statement as the Senate impeachment court tackles Article 2, which involves allegations of unexplained wealth, with three other personalities yet to be subpoenaed.

They are Kathy Florence Baldonado and Marco Pineda of the Davao City Register of Deeds, and Ronnel Buenaventura, executive director of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Secretariat.

The House prosecution team has asked the impeachment court to issue a subpoena for Trillanes to appear next week.

Trillanes’ testimony would cover matters concerning Duterte’s alleged “unexplained wealth and alleged receipt or acquisition of funds from persons or sources identified in the evidence presented before the impeachment court.”

Trillanes in April alleged that Duterte and members of her immediate family received P181 million from an alleged drug lord.

He made the statement during the House Justice Committee’s impeachment hearing before the panel voted to find probable cause to impeach the Vice President.

Tongol said the defense team may file a motion opposing the issuance of subpoenas for witnesses who would testify regarding Duterte’s AMLC records.

“We do not expect that from the defense, but if they have grounds for it, it’s up to them. It is their prerogative to file any motion regarding any of the witnesses being subpoenaed," Tongol said.

"They can either oppose the issuance of the subpoena or seek to quash the subpoena," he added.

Tongol said the testimony of Rendell Sopeña, division chief of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS), is expected to conclude on Monday, Sept. 28, to be followed by cross-examination.

“Tomorrow (Monday), we expect that after the testimony of Rendell Sopeña, the PhilGEPS division chief, the cross-examination, redirect examination and re-cross-examination will begin, followed by interjections from the senator-judges,” Tongol said.

Tongol said the prosecution panel may decide to move Mayor Duterte’s testimony to another day if Monday’s schedule does not allow enough time.

"Of course, we don’t want to disrupt the flow of the witness’s testimony, so it may be moved to another day,” he said.

READ: Sara Duterte impeachment court resets Baste Duterte subpoena to Sept. 28-30

Tongol added that a witness from the Philippine National Police Firearms and Explosives Unit will testify on Monday regarding the Vice President’s ownership of firearms.

Sopeña is testifying as a prosecution witness on Duterte’s alleged corporate ownership and shareholdings in connection with Article 2 of the Articles of Impeachment, which accuses her of accumulating unexplained wealth.

As division chief, Sopeña said he is the overall custodian of the PhilGEPS system database, validates requested data and issues certifications based on such requests.

The impeachment trial will run from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 28-30 and for the whole day on Oct. 1-2, 5-9 and 12-15.— MCG, GMA News