Senate impeachment court Presiding Officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero on Tuesday denied the defense's motion to exclude National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Senior Agent John Mark Calilung from testifying for the prosecution during the second day of Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial.
Defense counsel Atty. Carlo Narvasa argued that Calilung should not be allowed to testify because he was not listed as a witness in the Saballa and Cabrera impeachment complaints and was likewise not identified in the Articles of Impeachment transmitted to the Senate.
"Your Honor, may we move for the exclusion of Agent Calilung for being not previously attached to the Saballa and Cabrera complaints, as well as exclusion on the ground that he was not included in the articles of impeachment transmitted to the Senate Impeachment Court," Narvasa said.
The prosecution opposed the motion, with private prosecutor Atty. Amando Virgil Ligutan arguing that the Saballa complaint was no longer the governing document in the impeachment proceedings.
"The Saballa complaint already lived its natural life. This is the impeachment proceeding of the Articles of Impeachment filed by the House of Representatives. Saballa et al. is done. That should not be a proper objection," Ligutan said.
Ligutan also maintained that Calilung had already been identified in the prosecution's pretrial brief, making the defense's objection without basis.
"This witness is listed in the pretrial order. The issue is settled. The issue is passé. No ground for objection," he added.
Narvasa countered that the defense has a pending petition before the Supreme Court questioning the admission of evidence that was not attached to the original impeachment complaints, arguing that allowing such evidence would violate Duterte's constitutional rights.
After hearing both sides, Escudero denied the motion and ruled that the prosecution may present evidence and witnesses identified during pre-trial even if they were not specifically mentioned in the Articles of Impeachment.
"The motion to exclude by the counsel for respondent is hereby denied," Escudero ruled.
Citing the Supreme Court ruling in "Enrile v. Sandiganbayan," Escudero explained that prosecutors may rely on additional evidence during pretrial because the Articles of Impeachment only require a summary of the evidence, not a complete list of witnesses or exhibits.
"The court, in general, will not shackle the prosecution by limiting it to the evidence mentioned in the information and/or the Articles, especially when it is mentioned in the pretrial brief," the presiding officer said.
Escudero, however, allowed the defense to register a continuing objection during the witness's testimony, to which Narvasa replied, "We are registering it."
Following the ruling, Calilung proceeded to testify before the Senate impeachment court as the prosecution presented its evidence into the allegations against Vice President Duterte.
