The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday ordered the issuance of subpoenas to the prosecution’s first set of witnesses on the confidential funds article while deferring its ruling on separate motions seeking subpoenas involving Vice President Sara Duterte’s related bank records pending further questioning by senator-judges.
Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero granted the House prosecution panel’s request to issue subpoenas to Marivic Pareja of the House of Representatives’ Legislative Archives, Museum Management Service; former Land Bank branch managers Violeta Constantino and Nenita Camposano; and a subpoena duces tecum to Land Bank official Lynette Ortiz.
The witnesses were directed to appear before the impeachment court on July 21 and 22.
The court approved both subpoenas ad testificandum for the witnesses’ testimony and, in Ortiz’s case, a subpoena duces tecum requiring the production of specified documents related to the confidential funds article.
Escudero, meanwhile, said senator-judges agreed during caucus to further study two pending motions seeking subpoenas after determining that not all members had finished reviewing the parties’ memoranda and the legal issues involved.
“For the information of the parties, as well as the viewing public, in caucus, the senator-judges agreed to study the matter more, given that not everyone has actually completed reading the memoranda given by the parties and submitted by the parties, and given that they want more time to look into the complicated issues involved in these two motions for the issuance of subpoena,” Escudero said.
He said the impeachment court would hear questions from senator-judges to both the prosecution and defense on Monday before acting on the pending subpoena motions.
Under the court’s rules, each senator-judge will be given up to 10 minutes to question each side, with questioning not to exceed one hour per party.
In response to Senator-Judge Bam Aquino’s clarification on the order of presentation of evidence, Escudero explained that the prosecution would first present evidence on all articles of impeachment before the defense presents its case, after which the court would deliberate and decide the case on an article-by-article basis following the parties’ formal offers of evidence and closing arguments. (PNA)