The House prosecution panel on Wednesday said that although the defense lawyers’ strategy has noticeably changed, their own approach to the impeachment trial remains the same: to present all pertinent evidence wholly and clearly.
“Nag-iba ‘yung atake nila pero same line of questioning medyo mas pa-tweetums ‘yung dating nung defense kahapon na may visuals diba? Makikita naman natin ‘yung adjustment nila doon… The prep time with the prosecution has always been there, very steady po,” Deputy Speaker and La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V told reporters during a press conference.
Ortega noted that the defense appeared to be attacking National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Atty. Melvin Matibag’s character instead of questioning his account.
“Medyo tumaas lang doon ‘yung kilay ko na parang may antics sila toward that part, na character talaga ‘yung inaatake imbes na ‘yung ebidensya. Kumbaga, tinitibag siya pero kulang,” the lawmaker observed.
Meanwhile, Deputy Majority Leader and 1-Rider Party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo “Rodge” Gutierrez said that although the defense team’s changes call for slight modifications in their own methods, he emphasized that they would be minimal.
“I think ‘yung pinag-uusapan pong strategy that was being mentioned, these are more minor things na lang po… Yes, it would entail necessary adjustments to the prosecution pero minor lang ‘yan,” Gutierrez said.
“But the general strategy of the prosecution remains the same: ilatag ang lahat ng ebidensya, present it fairly to the court, and to assess all of the evidence together,” he added.
The lawmaker asserted that fairness could only be attained by looking at the whole picture, and not merely fragments of it.
“Fairness is about not looking at less evidence, but looking at all of it. So the strategy remains the same,” he said.
Private prosecutor Atty. Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. explained that these maneuvers were part of the reason they were appealing to the public to independently monitor the developments of the trial instead of relying on others’ accounts of trial events, which may lead to the spread of misinformation.
“Kaya din lagi naming inaanyayahan ang lahat ng mga kababayan natin na subaybayan ng mabuti itong impeachment proceedings na ito, para mapanood nila at makita ano ba talaga ang nangyayari sa paglilitis at ano ba talaga ang nailalapag na ebidensya,” he said.
On Tuesday, the defense called Matibag’s credibility into question, insinuating he was a biased, and thus, unreliable witness.
They questioned him about the opinion pieces he had penned prior to his appointment as NBI chief, which were critical of Duterte.
Moreover, they pointed out that Congresswoman Maria Rene Ann Matibag, his wife, had endorsed the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.
