By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — House prosecutors are prepared to abandon their request for Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team to admit the authenticity of subpoenaed bank records—provided the defense agrees to three limited stipulations that could significantly shorten the presentation of evidence in the impeachment trial.
Rep. Chel Diokno told the Senate impeachment court on Monday that the prosecution was willing to withdraw its request for admissions after Duterte’s lawyers rejected it wholesale on September 23.
The proposed compromise would require the defense to stipulate only that the bank records exist, that they were produced by the identified banks in compliance with subpoenas issued by the Senate court, and that they are genuine and authentic copies of records maintained and produced by those banks.
“We will withdraw our request for admission if the respondent will agree to this,” Diokno said.
He emphasized that the proposed stipulations would not require Duterte to admit liability, concede the truth or accuracy of every entry in the records, or accept the prosecution’s interpretation of any transaction.
The prosecution had earlier asked Duterte’s legal team to authenticate the subpoenaed bank documents and confirm her ownership of the accounts as it prepared to present evidence concerning allegations of unexplained wealth.
Diokno said granting the original request for admissions could substantially accelerate the proceedings because it could eliminate the need to call as many as 20 witnesses to establish matters covered by the documents.
But the defense maintained that it was not yet in a position to enter into any stipulation.
Lead defense counsel Sheila Sison told the court that her team had just been informed that additional documents would be marked that day, leaving them insufficient time to review the materials.
“And there will be no basis for any stipulation today or even tomorrow or even on Wednesday,” Sison said.
Sison suggested that any agreement should instead be taken up when the prosecution formally offers its testimonial and documentary evidence before the impeachment court.
“Kung magkakaroon man tayo ng stipulation, our suggestion is that the proposal for stipulation be made at the appropriate time,” she said, pointing to the stage when prosecutors make their offer of testimonial evidence accompanying the documentary records they intend to present.
The exchange puts the authenticity and handling of Duterte’s bank records at the center of another effort by both sides to determine which matters must still be proven through witnesses and which can be accepted without further debate.
For the prosecution, the proposed three-point stipulation would establish the basic existence, source and authenticity of the records without requiring the defense to concede the allegations they are being used to support.
For the defense, however, any stipulation would have to wait until its lawyers have had sufficient opportunity to examine the documents.
ia/xf
