Duterte trial: Prosecution withdraws ex-DepEd SDO Fajarda as witness

MANILA, Philippines — The prosecution panel in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial has withdrawn former Department of Education (DepEd) special disbursing officer Edward Fajarda as a witness as he recovers from a stroke. Fajarda was supposed to testify in late August regarding Article I, or the alleged misuse of confidential funds (CF) within DepEd when Duterte still headed it. However, this was postponed after he suffered a stroke. The House prosecution panel then made Fajarda a reserved witness after his physician initially recommended two weeks of rest. However, Fajarda’s legal counsel submitted to the Senate Impeachment Court on Monday morning that he would need another month to recover. “In view of the latest medical update, and the confirmation by the doctors of the Senate, as a humanitarian consideration, we are going to dispense with the testimony of the witness, and we wish him well,” private prosecutor Reynaldo Robles said during Duterte’s trial on Monday. READ: Prosecution: ‘Impossible’ to call Fajarda as witness for now The House prosecution opted to recall Fajarda’s subpoena to appear before the court and instead pursued stipulations. The defense earlier stipulated that Duterte’s security officer, Col. Dennis Nolasco, received the DepEd P112.5 million in confidential funds from Fajarda, following Duterte’s orders when she was education secretary from 2022 to 2024. /mcm