Defense lawyer Justin Nicol Gular objected to remarks made by private prosecutor Erwin Matib during the questioning of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) witness Gerardo Del Rosario on Monday, the 27th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.
The exchange centered on the process of selecting members of a company’s board of directors.
“Sino po bang namimili ng mga magiging members ng board of directors?” Matib asked.
Del Rosario replied that directors are elected by the company’s shareholders.
“Ang director po ay ine-elect po ng mga shareholders… Dapat po may eleksyon,” Del Rosario said.
Matib then remarked that Duterte appeared to have been repeatedly elected as a director of the company.
“Mukhang taon-taon po may eleksyon at laging nananalo si VP Sara sa pagiging director sa kumpanyang ito,” Matib said.
Gular immediately objected, arguing that Matib’s remark constituted a conclusion being made by counsel rather than testimony from the witness.
“There’s already a prior ruling from the presiding officer, we move to strike these additional conclusions of facts and law being made by the counsel. These are speeches that are not coming from the witness,” Gular said.
“Again, your honor, from the defense, it’s our position that evidence should come from the witness, not the counsel,” he added.
The exchange took place as the prosecution questioned Del Rosario about corporate records and Duterte’s alleged interests in companies as part of its presentation of evidence under Article II of the impeachment case.
The defense has repeatedly raised objections during the proceedings over the prosecution’s characterization of corporate records and statements made during questioning, maintaining that factual matters should be established through the testimony and evidence presented before the impeachment court.
