MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s defense warned Monday that testimony from retired Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang could shape public opinion against the Vice President even if her legal views are not binding on the Senate impeachment court.
Defense lawyer Mark Vinluan raised the concern during the 24th day of the impeachment trial, arguing that Tang’s discussion of legal issues could influence how the public interprets the allegations against Duterte-Carpio.
“We understand the position of this court that the testimony of the witness is not binding upon this court. But how about the general public? This already serves as conditioning of the mind of the public,” Vinluan said.
Vinluan also questioned whether ordinary members of the public would be able to distinguish which laws discussed in Tang’s testimony actually apply to the impeachment case.
Senate President Francis Escudero, who is presiding over the impeachment court, clarified that Tang was not called as a witness to establish the factual circumstances surrounding the allegations against Duterte-Carpio.
Escudero noted that House prosecutor and Akbayan’s Cong. Chel Diokno had acknowledged that Tang had no personal knowledge of the facts alleged in the impeachment complaint.
“So clearly she’s not testifying specifically to the facts surrounding this case and this case in particular against the respondent,” Escudero said.
“But the prosecution wishes to use one of their 15 witnesses and one of their trial dates on the honorable Justice Tang. And the court allowed it,” he added.
Tang’s testimony forms part of the prosecution’s presentation of evidence on Article II of the impeachment complaint against Duterte-Carpio.
Article II accuses the Vice President of betrayal of public trust over allegations involving unexplained wealth, inaccurate statements of assets, liabilities and net worth, and undisclosed or prohibited business interests./PN
