Sara Duterte impeachment trial resumes with witness testimony on fund disbursements

MANILA, Philippines — The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte is set to resume on Tuesday, with the prosecution panel presenting its first reserved witness who is expected to testify on the acknowledgment receipts submitted by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) to the Commission on Audit (COA) as proof of confidential fund (CF) disbursement. Police Maj. Jovelyn Magay is one of two reserved witnesses expected to testify for Article I, or Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds. While the prosecution refused to detail what it intended to present through Magay, its lead counsel, Rep. Gerville Luistro, said Magay would testify on the acknowledgment receipts that the OVP and DepEd submitted to the COA as proof of CF disbursement. Previously, defense lead counsel Sheila Sison took issue with the lack of details the prosecution gave about Magay’s possible testimony, saying the defense panel would have no prior preparation without a description of the “surprise witness.” In response, Luistro assured that the prosecution would present its offer of testimony before it begins examining Magay, clarifying that she is an “additional witness.” READ: Duterte trial Day 22: PSA official to testify on CF payees’ identities Though the defense was seemingly unsatisfied with this response, Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero said the court would give the defense ample time to prepare for its cross-examination of Magay. After Magay, the prosecution is expected to call to the stand DepEd Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda, wife of former DepEd special disbursing officer Edward Fajarda. The Fajarda couple supposedly had a close relationship with Duterte, which began in 2011 when Duterte was mayor of Davao City. Edward Fajarda turned over DepEd confidential funds to Duterte’s security detail when she was still Education chief. He was supposed to be another witness for the prosecution but was withdrawn after suffering a stroke and requiring a month-long recovery. The couple are also Duterte’s co-respondents in the Office of the Ombudsman proceedings for plunder, malversation of public funds, and related offenses. Fajarda’s testimony will be followed by that of the prosecution’s second reserved witness, COA Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office Assistant Commissioner Bresilio Sabaldan. Like Magay, the prosecution did not disclose ahead of time what testimony Sabaldan may offer during the trial. But two COA-ICFAO auditors, Roderick Wamil and Xylene del Campo, already testified that in auditing Duterte’s P612.5 million in CFs for DepEd and the OVP, they flagged discrepancies such as a lack of supporting documents and noncompliance with the proper use of CFs. /mcm