PH Senate rejects defense objection to marking of former Davao City cop's affidavit

MANILA — The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday rejected a defense objection to marking a portion of an affidavit by self-confessed Davao Death Squad (DDS) member Arturo Lascañas as a prosecution exhibit in the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Presiding Officer Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero handed down the ruling on Day 13 of the trial, declaring the defense's opposition without merit.

Escudero emphasized that marking a document is purely procedural and does not constitute formal admission as evidence or proof of its contents. Citing Section 34, Rule 132 of the Rules of Court, he noted that only evidence formally offered and admitted may be evaluated by the court.

“The marking, identification, or authentication of a document does not mean that the document has been formally offered or admitted for the purpose it was so stated,” Escudero said. He described the physical transfer of exhibit designations from provisional copies to certified originals as a "mechanical and ministerial act" meant strictly to maintain orderly court records.

Escudero assured the defense that the marking process impairs none of their substantive or procedural rights. “The respondent... loses no substantive or procedural right by reason of the transfer and may raise all appropriate objections when the document is formally offered,” he said.

Furthermore, Escudero restricted the scope of the document, ruling that the affidavit may be used solely to establish that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) relied on it as an open-source lead during its inquiry, rather than to prove the truth of its claims.

Escudero underscored the document's significant legal deficiencies, noting that it remains unsigned, unnotarized, and unauthenticated by a witness.

“The transfer of the markings does not cure the defects already placed on the record. The purported affidavit remains unsigned, unauthorized, and not made under oath,” Escudero explained, adding that the contents remain hearsay.

The ruling addresses a challenge raised Tuesday by lead defense counsel Sheila Sison, who argued that the unnotarized document should not even be marked. Portions of the text had been read into the record by NBI Director Melvin Matibag during his testimony.

Matibag testified that an NBI Special Task Force reviewed Lascañas' International Criminal Court (ICC) affidavit—which accuses Duterte of orchestrating "Oplan Tokhang" while serving as Davao City mayor in 2012—as part of an investigation into an alleged "pattern of violence." That probe stems from Duterte's alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Sison had registered a continuing objection to the marking on Tuesday, insisting the prosecution should not be permitted to mark unauthenticated material.

Following the court's ruling on Wednesday, defense attorney Michael Poa stated in a brief interview that the defense team would respect the presiding officer's decision. -Paraluman News