MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment defense suffered a setback after its first prospective witness, constitutional law professor Dean Ralph Sarmiento, withdrew from the proceedings, citing the need to protect his independence and impartiality as a legal scholar.
Sarmiento, who was expected to testify on November 9 in connection with allegations of unexplained wealth against the Vice President, announced his withdrawal in a Facebook video.
“I have decided to decline participation as a witness in the proceedings. This is a personal decision to preserve the independence of my constitutional law scholarship and the impartiality of my legal views and opinions,” he said.
Sarmiento said he had informed Duterte-Carpio’s defense panel of his decision and requested the withdrawal of its application for a subpoena before the Senate impeachment court.
If the subpoena had already been issued, he asked the defense team to seek its cancellation.
The constitutional law expert thanked the defense panel for considering his publicly expressed legal opinions but said he had not anticipated their use in the impeachment proceedings.
The defense had identified Sarmiento as its first witness and filed a subpoena request Wednesday to secure his appearance on November 9.
Sarmiento teaches Political and Constitutional Law at the University of St. La Salle College of Law, where he previously served as vice chancellor for administration.
He had earlier called for fairness in the impeachment proceedings after prosecutors dropped three of the four original charges against Duterte-Carpio.
Defense spokesperson Michael Poa said the panel respected Sarmiento’s withdrawal.
“We respect Dean Sarmiento’s personal decision and appreciate his initial consideration of our invitation. We wish him well in his continued contributions to constitutional discourse,” Poa said.
The withdrawal leaves the defense without its initially designated witness on the unexplained wealth allegations, although the panel has yet to announce whether it will seek a replacement./PN
