Sara Duterte impeachment trial: Prosecution drops Madriaga, Lachica, Nolasco from witness lineup

MANILA, Philippines – The prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has dropped her alleged bagman and her two security officers from its witness lineup. Prosecution spokesman Ace Barbers confirmed on Friday, September 4, that the prosecution will no longer present colonels Raymund Lachica and Dennis Nolasco, and former counterintelligence agent Ramil Madriaga. Duterte’s special disbursing officers (SDOs) in the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education (DepEd) — Gina Acosta and Edward Fajarda — said they turned over hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential funds of the agencies to Lachica and Nolasco, in an apparent violation of the joint circular governing confidential spending. Lachica, in particular, has been mentioned several times during the testimonies of the prosecution’s witnesses, prompting some senator-judges to ask whether it will ask the court to subpoena the military officer. “[Lachica and Nolasco[ didn’t face the [House] committee on good government when they were asked to appear as resource persons,” Barbers said in a virtual press conference. Madriaga, meanwhile, was the star witness of the House during its impeachment hearings. The former campaign officer for the Dutertes claimed Lachica and Nolasco turned over to him the P125 million in confidential funds in 2022, which Madriaga supposedly delivered to various individuals in less than 24 hours. The prosecution’s decision to abandon any plan to let the three personalities take the witness stand is expected to expedite the trial, as the prosecution seeks to finish presenting its confidential fund misuse case against the Vice President by September 9. – Rappler.com