VP Sara Duterte May Be Called as Witness in Impeachment Trial

The House prosecution panel is considering calling Vice President Sara Duterte as a witness in her impeachment trial, a move that House prosecutor Joel Chua of Manila said is part of due process. Chua stated that the prosecution reserves its right to present the Vice President as a witness. "We are considering calling her in since the Vice President has been saying that she is innocent; that this is just political harassment. If she can sit on the witness stand and explain, then she can answer the questions of the Senator-judges and even the public," he said. He added, "If she won’t do it, then we can say that she will miss her chance to explain her side to the public." Furthermore, Chua highlighted that all of the Vice President’s subordinates, including Gina Acosta, Lemuel Ortonio, and Michael Poa, testified that the Vice President is the one knowledgeable about how at least P612.5 million in confidential funds of her office were spent. "All the witnesses from her officials from her office said they do not have an idea how the confidential fund was spent. Even the Special Disbursing Officer [Acosta], who should know about the fund’s disbursement, did not know how it was disbursed. With that, it is only the Vice President who can answer such disbursement queries," Chua said. The lawmaker noted that while the Vice President cannot be forced to testify, she can voluntarily appear, similar to what former Chief Justice Renato Corona did in his 2012 impeachment trial. Chua, however, assured the public that the prosecution’s case is airtight, with or without the Vice President taking the witness stand. "Whether she takes the witness stand or not, we have a strong case anchored on evidence, as you have seen in our allegation of grave threat [against President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and his family], as well as alleged misuse of confidential funds," he stated. —AOL, GMA News