VP Sara's camp: Not afraid of bank, tax records in impeachment trial

The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday denied it was trying to block the release of her bank and tax records, saying it was not afraid of the documents being sought through subpoenas by the House prosecution panel. Michael Poa, one of Duterte’s lawyers, said the defense only wants to follow the law in relation to the documents. “Alam ko na after nitong session na ‘to, ina-anticipate ko na maraming mga batikos na ganyan na kesyo tayo ay nagtatago or natatakot sa dokumento," Poa said in a chance interview according to a tweet of GMA News’ Joseph Morong. (We are aware that after this session, we will receive criticisms that we are afraid of the documents.) “Hindi tayo takot sa dokumento. Ang gusto lang natin ‘yung naaayon sa batas. Very clear naman para sa aming pananaw ang naging pahayag ng Supreme Court dun sa kanilang naging decision at yun naman ay pino-point out lang natin sa ating mga senator-judges,” he said. (But we’re not afraid of the documents. What we want is to follow the law in relation to it. In our view, the SC was clear in its decision and we were merely pointing that out to our senator-judges.) The Day 6 of the Duterte’s impeachment trial centered on the oral argument of the prosecution and the defense on the House prosecutors’ request for the Senate impeachment court to issue separate subpoenas on the financial and tax documents of the Vice President and her husband, Manases Caprio. Poa, who represented the defense team on the oral argument, appealed for the dismissal of the request, saying the subpoenas would amount to a “fishing expedition” as the Saballa and Cabrera complaints complaints accusing Duterte of allegedly amassing unexplained wealth has no single attachment supporting the claims. He also argued granting the request would violate the couple’s constitutional rights to privacy and due process. “Kung ano man ang maging decision ng court, of course, we will have to wait for whatever decision they will have at nakabase dun ang ating mga susunod na hakbang,” said Poa. (We will wait for the court’s decision and our next steps will be based on that.) “Again, wala tayong kinakatakot sa mga dokumento. It’s really that you know, when we’re trying to obtain pure evidence, all always has to be well-within the limits of the Constitution, the laws, and the rules,” the defense lawyer added. (Again, we’re not afraid. It’s really that you know, when we’re trying to obtain pure evidence, all always has to be well-within the limits of the Constitution, the laws, and the rules.) —LDF, GMA News