Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero on Tuesday ruled that Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team may play the full video allegedly showing her threatening President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez, but only during the defense panel’s allotted time.
The ruling came after defense counsel Carlo Narvasa asked the impeachment court to allow the playing of the more than two-hour video so the panel could review its contents and compare it with its own copy.
“First, Your Honor, precisely why we’re asking to watch the video is because we don’t know what the contents of that video is. We don’t know if it’s any different or the same with our video. And to answer the question of the Honorable senator (Alan Peter Cayetano), yes, we will be asking the entire two-hour 26-minute video to be presented and watched later on during our cross (examination),” Narvasa said.
Escudero said the court would not interfere with how either side presents its case, but noted that parties may choose to show only portions of a longer video to save time and support specific allegations.
“We will not interfere with how each party or either party presents their case. With a caveat that a portion of an entire video being presented is not only to save on time, but also to be able to support the allegations from the point of view of the prosecution insofar as their articles of impeachment is concerned,” Escudero said.
Escudero said that if the defense chooses to present the entire video, the court will allow it during the respondent’s presentation of evidence in chief.
Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano, meanwhile, cautioned the prosecution against asking NBI senior agent John Mark Calilung leading questions about the video.
Cayetano said the prosecution should first allow the witness to testify on the contents of the video before asking follow-up questions on specific portions.
“Precisely, the rule says that you cannot allow leading questions. Whether it’s from the judges, whether it’s from the presiding officer, or from the defense. So, meaning you lay the basis. Simply you ask him, ano laman ng video? Pag binanggit na niya na may ganitong laman ang video, you can ask him directly what parts,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano made the manifestation after the prosecution asked questions about the video, while Calilung clarified that he had not previously stated that the video contained threats against the lives of Marcos, Araneta-Marcos, and Romualdez.
“Let him testify, tapos pag binanggit niya, then you can ask him, hindi na siya leading. But we shouldn’t really ask leading questions because we’ll violate the rules. So, excuse me, but I’ll be very particular when it comes to the rules. And it’s not against any group,” Cayetano added.