Officials from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) may be presented as hostile witnesses in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, according to House prosecution lead counsel Atty. Gerville Luistro.
Luistro made the disclosure after the House prosecution panel submitted its pre-trial brief to the Senate impeachment court ahead of the June 18 pre-trial conference, where witness lists, documentary evidence, and procedural issues are expected to be tackled.
“Ang hostile, you can anticipate already that this will be officials either from OVP or DepEd,” she said, adding that many of the potential witnesses had already been encountered during earlier congressional inquiries in aid of legislation under the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
She noted that the agencies are central to the allegations surrounding the use of confidential funds during the period when Duterte served as both Vice President and Secretary of Education.
The Batangas solon also said the prosecution anticipates strong resistance from the defense once evidence related to unexplained wealth is formally presented before the impeachment court.
“Without specifically mentioning the witnesses and the exhibits to be presented, but we anticipate that to happen in the article for unexplained wealth,” she said, adding that similar resistance was already observed during earlier committee proceedings.
She said the prosecution expects challenges from Duterte’s camp, particularly in relation to subpoenas for bank records and testimony from financial institutions.
“We anticipate that,” Luistro said, citing previous legal actions initiated by the defense, including cases questioning alleged violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act and petitions filed before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court seeking to block disclosure of financial transactions involving the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
She added that confidentiality over bank and AMLC records has already been raised in earlier legal arguments and is expected to surface again during the impeachment trial.
“So, as early as now, we anticipate that we will file the challenge during the presentation dito sa unexplained wealth,” she said.
She also confirmed that bank documents and representatives remain part of the prosecution’s intended evidence, although these materials are not yet fully in their possession.
“The least I can say is sapagkat ito naman noon pa namin pinopronounce ‘yung bank documents, ‘yung bank representatives, which even us, we do not have them yet in our possession,” Luistro said.
The House prosecution panel has formally submitted its pre-trial brief ahead of the Senate impeachment court proceedings, with the trial proper set to begin on July 6, where issues of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, and other allegations against the Vice President are expected to be tackled.