The defense panel of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, August 3, raised concerns over several acknowledgment receipts presented by the prosecution during the 11th day of the impeachment trial, saying they were willing to stipulate on most documents but would exclude a specific set of receipts.
Defense counsel Atty. Michael Poa said they agreed to stipulate the majority of the documents submitted by the prosecution, except for acknowledgment receipts covering the period of December 21 to 31, 2022.
“The defense is willing to stipulate on the list of documents provided except for the acknowledgment receipts for the period covering December 21 to 31, 2022,” Poa said.
“There are issues concerning these acknowledgement receipts that I believe will also be touched upon by other witnesses in the future,” he added, without elaborating on the specific concerns.
Before raising the objection, Poa requested a brief suspension to coordinate with the prosecution panel regarding the documents both sides intended to stipulate.
“I apologize for having to request for this, but may we just ask for at least a five-minute suspension so we can also concur with the prosecution panel to check exactly what documents they would want to stipulate,” Poa told the impeachment court.
“Because, your honor, we have no problem stipulating but we also, due to the voluminous nature of the documents, we just wanna make also while ensuring the rights of our client,” he added.
The discussion on document stipulations formed part of the proceedings on Article I of the Articles of Impeachment, which involves allegations of the misuse of confidential funds involving the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd). The defense maintained that it needed to carefully review the voluminous records to protect the rights of Vice President Duterte before agreeing to any stipulations.
