House prosecution drops last 15 witnesses for Article 1 of VP Duterte impeachment case

The House prosecution panel on Tuesday abandoned plans to present its remaining 15 witnesses for the first article of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, asserting that the evidence already on record is sufficient to prove the alleged misuse of confidential funds.

Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan announced the strategic shift on the 23rd day of the impeachment trial, explaining that while 27 witnesses were originally slated for Article 1, the prosecution had already presented 10 and secured stipulations for two others.

"To date, we have already presented 10 witnesses and stipulated as to the testimony of two witnesses—a total of 12 witnesses out of 27," Kapunan said.

Following an overnight strategy session that stretched into Tuesday morning, public and private prosecutors agreed to dispense with the remaining testimonies, including those scheduled for the day's hearing.

"After a long meeting last night and towards this morning, just before this hearing, the prosecution... decided to forego, Your Honors, not only with the witnesses subpoenaed for today, but with all the remaining 15 witnesses," Kapunan informed the court.

Among those dropped from Tuesday's lineup were Police Major Jovelyn Magay, former Department of Education Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda, and Commission on Audit Assistant Commissioner Bresilio Sabaldan.

Kapunan noted that while the prosecution originally intended to introduce thousands of exhibits alongside the full roster of witnesses, the 4,750 documents already identified by the initial 12 witnesses sufficiently established their case.

"Not a conclusion of fact and law, but a conclusion based on 4,750 documents presented and identified by the 12 witnesses—10 of whom were present in court and subjected themselves to long cross-examinations by the defense counsels, as well as questions from the senator-judges," Kapunan stated, adding that the testimonies revealed a consistent pattern in how the funds were managed.

"The testimony elicited very clearly a pattern, as one would see a chessboard," she remarked, emphasizing the strategic importance of the queen piece.

With the core of Article 1 presented, the prosecution signaled that it may later seek Vice President Duterte's own testimony, alongside that of an outside legal expert, after completing its presentation of all four articles of impeachment.

"To summarize, there will be no more hearings [or] trials on Article 1 on the misuse and misappropriations of confidential funds," Kapunan said.

However, Senate President and Presiding Officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero cautioned the prosecution against formally resting its case on Article 1 just yet, advising the court to first determine whether additional testimonies might still be required.

The move effectively pauses the prosecution's presentation on the confidential funds issue, concluding a phase that saw 12 witnesses testify and nearly 4,800 documents entered into evidence.

-Paraluman News