MANILA — House prosecutors have backed away from seeking Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s formal admission that she owns bank accounts whose records were submitted to the Senate impeachment court, proposing instead that both sides simply recognize the authenticity of the documents.
The shift came Monday on the 30th day of Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial, as House prosecutor and Akbayan party-list Rep. Chel Diokno sought to narrow the dispute over the bank records and avoid calling additional witnesses to authenticate them.
Under the prosecution’s proposed stipulations, both sides would acknowledge that the bank accounts exist, that the financial institutions submitted the records in response to subpoenas issued by the impeachment court, and that the documents are genuine copies of records maintained by the banks.
Diokno stressed that the prosecution was not asking Duterte-Carpio to help establish the case against herself, but merely seeking agreement on matters it considers undisputed.
“The request for admission is not being invoked to alter the burden of proof or to compel the respondent to establish the prosecution’s case and will not have that effect. Its purpose is simply to narrow the issues and avoid the needless presentation of witnesses and evidence on matters that are not genuinely disputed,” Diokno said during Day 30 of the impeachment trial.
He said the prosecution was willing to withdraw its request for admission if Duterte-Carpio’s defense agreed to the proposed stipulations on the bank documents.
“To be clear, the respondent has not made any claim that they are fake or fabricated. We will withdraw our request for admission if the respondent will agree to this,” Diokno added.
Defense lead counsel Shiela Sison, however, objected on constitutional grounds, arguing that requiring Duterte-Carpio to make an admission concerning the records could violate her protection against self-incrimination.
Sison cited court rulings dating to 1905, 1937 and 1969 which, she argued, recognize the protection of an accused or respondent against being compelled to provide incriminating testimony.
“The court has consistently said that an admission is actually akin to a testimony, that is why it is called an admission,” she said.
Sison maintained that the same constitutional protection should apply in impeachment proceedings.
“And if the Constitution prohibits compulsion for a respondent or accused to testify for himself or herself, the request for admission should likewise be prohibited here [in the impeachment],” Sison added.
The dispute involves bank records that financial institutions were ordered to submit to the Senate impeachment court as part of the proceedings against Duterte-Carpio.
Despite the prosecution’s willingness to withdraw its original request, impeachment court presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero said the tribunal would still issue a ruling on the matter.
Escudero said a ruling would provide guidance to both the prosecution and defense as the impeachment trial proceeds./PN
