Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano raised concerns over the presentation of a summary prepared by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) witness Atty. Gerardo Del Rosario during the 27th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on Monday.
Cayetano made the remarks after defense lawyer Justin Nicol Gular objected to the summary, questioning the accuracy of its labels and figures concerning Duterte’s alleged shareholdings.
“Just taking note of the defense counsel’s manifestation, what is essential in this trial is fairness. So if we’re gonna spend the whole morning, afternoon looking at these documents, tapos mali ‘yung label, it will prejudice the defense and the Vice President,” Cayetano said.
He noted that the document could still be corrected if the errors were limited, but stressed that repeated or misleading labels could affect the proceedings.
“This isn’t a PDF or a printed document, pwede naman nila i-edit eh. Ang point ko lang, if it’s just one page and just one mistake then we can say let’s allow it that note. But if throughout this trial or throughout this afternoon, may mali ‘yung label or misleading, what’s worse than a misleading question, it’s a misleading document that will be flashed,” Cayetano added.
The senator-judge’s remarks came as the prosecution sought to use the SEC-prepared summary to expedite Del Rosario’s testimony and presentation of corporate records.
Earlier, Gular objected to the document, saying the defense had only received it during Monday’s proceedings. He also questioned the title “Summary of Vice President Sara Duterte’s Shareholdings,” pointing out that some of the figures referred to the authorized capital stock, subscribed amount, and paid-up capital of corporations rather than Duterte’s personal holdings.
Presiding Officer Francis Escudero said the concerns raised by the defense would be addressed during cross-examination and that Gular would be given time to review the summary.
The exchange occurred as the Senate impeachment court continued hearing the prosecution’s Article II allegations against Duterte involving her alleged wealth, SALN declarations, and business interests.
