House prosecutor and Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon on Saturday hit back at Vice President Sara Duterte’s spokesperson, lawyer Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr., over his claim that the prosecution had its chance but failed to prove its case.
Panelo earlier criticized the prosecution’s presentation, saying the team had been unsuccessful and that the vice president would now have the opportunity to defend herself.
“In what universe did we actually fail at this point?” Ridon said during the Saturday News Forum on November 7.
Ridon questioned Panelo’s assessment, saying the defense’s decision to address the prosecution’s evidence point by point contradicts claims that the prosecution’s presentation had been unsuccessful.
He argued that if the prosecution had indeed failed, the defense would not have been compelled to respond individually to the evidence and issues raised by the prosecution.
“Ang totoo naman if we failed hindi pasok yung mga ebidensya na ito. Hindi sila mako-compel na sagutin po yung usapin point per point in this defense presentation of evidence,“ he added.
Ridon also said he could not understand where Panelo’s assessment of the current state of the impeachment proceedings came from.
“Hindi ko alam kung masama lang 'yung gising ni Attorney Panelo, pero hindi ko alam kung saang [universe] niya hinugot ito pong pagtingin po niya sa actual na estado ng paglilitis po ngayon,“ Ridon said.
Meanwhile, prosecution spokesperson lawyer Jay Tolosa also questioned Panelo’s remarks, pointing out what he described as an inconsistency between the claim of failure and the defense’s preparations to present 24 witnesses during the first week of its proceedings.
“Ano 'yun ang claim nila it failed. So, ibig sabihin parang wala kang walang kwenta, walang says ebidensya natin. Pero sa first week pa lang they already want to present 24 witnesses. So, parang hindi masyadong consistent to,” Tolosa said.
The defense team of Duterte is set to begin presenting its evidence and witnesses on Monday, November 9, as the impeachment trial against her resumes at the Senate.
The defense has submitted an initial list of 24 witnesses it intends to present during the November 9 to 13 hearings, including corporate officials, local government personnel and representatives of several banks.
