The Senate impeachment court on Tuesday, July 7 cleared the way for the House prosecution panel to present its first witness in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, rejecting a defense motion that sought to bar the testimony of a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) official.
The prosecution presented NBI Senior Agent John Mark Calilung as its first witness on the second day of the trial.
Before Calilung could proceed with his testimony, Duterte’s legal counsel, Carlo Narvasa, moved to exclude the NBI agent from the proceedings, arguing that he was not identified as a witness in the Saballa and Cabrera impeachment complaint and was likewise not included in the Articles of Impeachment transmitted to the Senate impeachment court.
House prosecution counsel Amando Virgil Ligutan opposed the motion, saying it was not a proper objection. He argued that the impeachment trial is already separate from the Saballa and Cabrera complaint because it “has already lived its natural life.”
Ligutan also pointed out that Calilung had already been identified as one of the prosecution’s witnesses in the pre-trial order.
Presiding Officer, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, ruled in favor of the prosecution and denied the defense’s motion.
In his ruling, Escudero cited the Supreme Court’s decision in Enrile v. Sandiganbayan, which held that prosecutors are not restricted to presenting only the evidence specifically mentioned in the complaint or the Articles of Impeachment, as those documents are required to contain only a summary of the charges.
“The court, in general, will not shackle the prosecution by limiting it to the evidence mentioned in the information and/or the articles, especially if it’s been mentioned in the pre-trial brief—not only the pre-trial order, but the pre-trial brief—of the prosecutors,” Escudero said.*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, contributes to Negros Daily Bulletin, and maintains a blog on Medium.