The House prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte announced it will drop two key military witnesses, stating that previous testimonies have already sufficiently addressed the controversy surrounding military certifications used to justify confidential fund expenditures.
House prosecutor and Manila Representative Joel Chua confirmed that Lt. Col. Carlos Sandaan Jr. and retired Maj. Gen. Adonis Bajao will no longer take the witness stand, as their expected testimonies would merely duplicate those of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) officers who testified on Tuesday.
“Meron na kaming dalawang testigo na ipinresenta base sa parehas na punto, at ganoon din naman ang ipupunto ng dalawa, kaya hindi na ipi-present ’yung dalawa,” Chua said.
(We already presented two witnesses based on the same point, and since the other two would make the exact same point, we will no longer present them.)
The prosecution previously presented Col. Manaros Boransing II and Col. Magtangol Panopio regarding military certifications linked to Youth Leadership Summits (YLS) and information-education-communication activities conducted in 2023. Those certifications were submitted by the Department of Education (DepEd) to the Commission on Audit (COA) to liquidate P15.54 million in confidential funds allegedly disbursed as rewards.
Chua expressed satisfaction with the evidence established regarding the YLS certifications, emphasizing that streamlining the witness list prevents unnecessary delays.
“Kung siguro masasabi natin na iisa lang naman ’yung sasabihin nila, so kagaya din ang sinasabi namin, to shorten — ayaw naman natin ng protracted hearing. Gusto natin matapos na rin ito as long as satisfied naman na kami,” Chua added.
(Since they would only be saying the same thing, as we’ve said, we want to shorten the proceedings — we don’t want a protracted hearing. We want to wrap this up as long as we are satisfied.)
During Tuesday’s hearing, Boransing testified that his 1st Infantry “Tabak” Division received no funds from DepEd for the eight YLS and 53 information-education-communication activities covered by his certification.
Panopio similarly testified that his certification was intended solely to verify that YLS activities took place within his unit’s area of operations, not to account for financial transactions.
Prior to Panopio taking the stand, the defense stipulated that no confidential funds were transferred from DepEd to the Philippine Army or the AFP for the activities in question. However, the defense declined to agree to additional stipulations offered by the prosecution, prompting Panopio’s direct testimony. His statements were ultimately left uncrossed by the defense.
According to Chua, Panopio’s testimony largely mirrored the statements he and Boransing previously provided before the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
The prosecution is currently presenting evidence under Article I of the impeachment complaint against Duterte, which covers the alleged misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President and DepEd.
Of that total, P112.5 million was released to DepEd in three P37.5-million tranches during the first three quarters of 2023, while Duterte was serving as Secretary of Education.