MANILA, Philippines — The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte maintained that the prosecution has "no other competent evidence" to prove that their client contracted an assassin to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez.
This as they closed their cross examination of National Bureau of Investigation special agent John Mark Calilung on Wednesday, where the defense team tried to test the credibility of his testimony.
In his closing remarks, defense counsel Mark Vinluan quoted the response of Senator-Judge Risa Hontiveros that none of the statements made by Calilung was proof that Duterte contracted an assassin or hired one.
"She then asked the question, why are these acts impeachable? To this question, the prosecution responded, we understand that these statements may not actually 100% prove that she in fact contracted an assassin --- an assassin," Vinluan said.
Vinluan also pointed out that Duterte and her family were threatened and while the response was unconventional, it was justified, and stressed that what triggered her reponse was the question about "Operation Romanov", a plot to kill her and her family.
He also quoted the NBI's own minutes of the meeting where it interviewed the late Inquirer reporter Dempsey Reyes, who covers the Office of the Vice President, that there were threats against Duterte in a press briefing before the threat was mentioned, while a certain "Princess Maui" mentioned "Operation Romanov" during the briefing.
"When VP Sara uttered those words, she was not responding as Sara Duterte, the Vice-President, but Sara Duterte, the wife, mother, daughter, and sister who only sought to protect her own and her family members' lives. 'Operation Romanov' is in place, and the threat against their lives is real." Vinluan said.
She added that Duterte became a target of "unauthorized intelligence and surveillance operations by government operatives that exposed her family to high-level risks and security threats, thereby causing intense trauma and uncontrollable fear,"
Vinluan stressed that Duterte did not commit an impeachable offense, rather, she "drew the line in the sand and said, enough is enough. That is the meaning, and that is the context,"
The lawyer also said that the alleged grave threats and inciting to sedition falls under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Trial Court and first level courts and should not be considered as high crimes under the Constitution.
"She never incited sedition. She merely echoed the voice of ordinary Filipinos. Her message that day only reflected what was already in their hearts and minds. There was no betrayal of public trust. She actually upheld the people's trust as she spoke for and behalf of the people," Vinluan said.
Speaking after the trial, Defense counsel and spokesman Michael Wesley Poa said that they were happy on how Narvasa handled the cross examination, noting that they were able to show the extent of the investigation, the parts of the video that would provide context, and the nature of the affidavit of investigation,
Poa said that they would score their effort on the cross examination as 10 out of 10 as they were able to present their key objectives.
Meanwhile, Prosecution spokesman Robert Ace Barbers said that the defense "failed to dent" the testimony of Calilung, noting that he remained consistent during the cross examination
“He (Calilung) was very consistent with all his statements from the beginning and even during the cross-examination. He was firm and stood by the statements and testimony he gave during the first day that he was presented as a witness for the prosecution." Barbers said
