MANILA, Philippines — The House prosecution team on Monday said it will first present officials from the Anti-Money Laundering Council and Land Registration Authority, which will serve as a prelude to the testimony of former senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV's ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
“I think it is more important to prioritize the documentary exhibits first—for example, those from the RD (Register of Deeds) and the AMLC,” Ridon said in Filipino at a post-trial press briefing.
“As for the sequence, we can change it during the presentation. Since the Court requested additional witnesses, we might present Sen. Trillanes after the first set of witnesses,” he added.
Trillanes is still expected to testify later this week on financial transactions he previously presented to the House Committee on Justice during its impeachment proceedings.
In April, he submitted a sworn affidavit and bank transaction records that he said traced billions of pesos through accounts linked to Duterte and members of her family, including alleged joint accounts involving the Vice President and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Trillanes also cited three transactions totaling about P22.3 million that he alleged came from Samuel “Sammy” Uy and went to Duterte between 2011 and 2013. He questioned why the amounts did not appear in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.
Davao City Register of Deeds Kathy Florence Baldonado and Samal Deputy Register of Deeds Marco Pineda are expected to testify on land records involving properties registered to Duterte’s husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio.
AMLC Secretariat Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura is also in the prosecution lineup to testify on financial records relevant to Article II.
Ridon said the AMLC report taken up during the House impeachment proceedings covered P6.7 billion in transactions, including P4.4 billion in inflows. The prosecution is also preparing bank records submitted by about 10 banks to the Senate impeachment court in compliance with subpoenas.
Meanwhile, lead prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro said individual bank representatives may have to testify to identify and authenticate the records if Duterte’s defense does not agree to stipulate on their authenticity.
