Impeachment Court Approves Marking of Lascañas Affidavit as Exhibit

The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday denied the objection of the defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte to the marking of a portion of the affidavit of self-confessed Davao Death Squad (DDS) member Arturo Lascañas as a prosecution exhibit. Court presiding officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero made the ruling on the 13th day of the impeachment trial of Duterte. “After considering the objections of the respondent, the objection is hereby denied,” Escudero said. While granting the physical transfer of the markings, Escudero said the court explicitly ruled the matter as a purely "mechanical and ministerial act." He said the document is not yet considered as an evidence until formally offered under Section 34, Rule 132 of the Rules of Court. Escudero also noted that the document remains fatally defective as it is "unsigned, unnotarized, and not made under oath." On Tuesday, lead defense counsel Sheila Sison argued that Lascañas’ affidavit—which had been read into the record by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag—was unnotarized and had not been identified by any competent witness. Matibag previously said that the NBI looked into an affidavit of Lascañas submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which mentioned Vice President Sara Duterte's supposed hand in Oplan Tokhang. —AOL, GMA News