Defense counsel Atty. Mark Vinluan questioned retired Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang about her alleged political affiliations during the Day 24 proceedings of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on Monday.
During cross-examination, Vinluan asked Tang whether she was “anti-Duterte” and whether she supported Vice President Duterte. Tang denied being anti-Duterte and said she did not personally know the Vice President.
Vinluan then asked, “Kakampink po ba kayo, Ma’am?”
Tang appeared unfamiliar with the term, prompting Vinluan to clarify whether he was referring to affiliation with the “pink” political movement.
“No, I’ve never been political in my life. I’ve always been apolitical,” Tang replied.
Vinluan also raised Tang’s previous application for a Supreme Court position during the administration of then-President Rodrigo Duterte. Tang confirmed that Duterte was the appointing authority at the time but said she was not disappointed when she was not appointed.
“That is his exclusive prerogative,” Tang said when asked about Duterte’s decision.
Vinluan also questioned Tang about her relationship with House prosecution counsel and Akbayan Party-list Representative Chel Diokno.
When asked whether she and Diokno were friends, Tang denied the characterization, saying they had instead been adversaries in cases before the Court of Appeals.
“No, we were adversaries actually in the Amparo cases before the Court of Appeals,” Tang said.
Earlier in the proceedings, Vinluan presented a 2018 online news report concerning allegations of favoritism against Tang. He asked whether she was familiar with the issue and whether she had been confronted about it during her public interview for her Supreme Court application before the Judicial and Bar Council.
Tang said she was not familiar with the issue and could not recall being confronted about it during the JBC proceedings.
House prosecution counsel Chel Diokno objected to the introduction of the report, arguing that the document had not been properly authenticated.
Tang is testifying as a prosecution witness in the Senate impeachment court’s proceedings on Article II of the Articles of Impeachment, which covers allegations involving unexplained wealth, false SALNs and continued business interests.
