Defense objects to Davao City cop's unauthenticated affidavit in VP impeachment trial

The defense team for Vice President Sara Duterte strongly opposed the prosecution’s attempt to introduce portions of an affidavit by alleged Davao Death Squad (DDS) member Arturo Lascañas as evidence on Tuesday, maintaining that the document remains unauthenticated and legally invalid.

During the 12th day of the impeachment trial, lead defense counsel Sheila Sison argued that the affidavit should not even be assigned an exhibit marking, noting that it lacks standard legal formalities and remains unsupported by witness testimony.

“I would just like to put on record that we are objecting even to the marking of this particular exhibit, consistent with the ruling of this court when we objected to the reading of the affidavit by NBI Director Melvin Matibag,” Sison stated. “As of this point, no witness has yet testified on this affidavit, and it's on record—if we review the records of the court—that that supposed affidavit was unnotarized and was not signed by anybody, let alone identified by any competent witness.”

The disputed document was previously read in open court by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag while testifying under Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment. Matibag testified that the NBI reviewed Lascañas' statement as part of its investigation into an alleged pattern of violence tied to Duterte, which includes alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Sison further contended that the prosecution’s request was procedurally out of order, as the hearing was intended solely to transfer existing exhibit markings rather than introduce new ones.

“The motion is to set a conference for the transfer of exhibit markings. Now, this presupposes there has already been an original marking,” Sison emphasized. “We will not agree, and if the presiding officer allows even the pre-marking or marking of this item under this motion, then we would like our continuing objection to the allowance of the marking of this particular exhibit to be put on record.”

Lascañas, a self-confessed former DDS member currently residing overseas, previously submitted a 186-page affidavit to the International Criminal Court (ICC). In it, he implicated Vice President Duterte in extrajudicial killings and alleged that she directed the implementation of "Oplan Tokhang" during her tenure as Davao City mayor in 2012.

Excerpted portions read during Matibag's testimony claimed that Oplan Tokhang—and what the affidavit characterized as "the evil side of its enforcement"—was originally conceived between 2012 and 2013 by its alleged architect, then-Davao City Police Office Director and now Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa.

-Paraluman News