Vice President Sara Z. Duterte should personally explain before the Senate impeachment court her alleged threats against the country\u2019s top officials, House prosecutor and Akbayan Party-list Rep. Jose Manuel \u201cChel\u201d Diokno said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a press briefing at the House of Representatives, Diokno said it is ultimately up to Duterte and her defense team to decide whether she will testify.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the call of her lawyers and herself,\u201d Diokno said when asked whether Duterte should take the witness stand to answer allegations that she threatened President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, I think that for the court to have a full appreciation of what she is claiming, then the court, I think, would benefit from hearing her explain personally why she said those things that we all saw,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Diokno said the prosecution team is ready to cross-examine the Vice President \u201cif she comes out and testifies.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also pointed out that Duterte had been invited to appear during the House Committee on Justice hearings on the impeachment complaints, but did not attend.<\/p>\n
\u201cIto na ang pagkakataon niya na ipaliwanag \u2019yung kanyang mga depensa at \u2019yung mga sinasabi nga niya sa media pa lang so far (This is her opportunity to explain her defense and her statements to media so far),\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment alleges that Duterte contracted an assassin, made grave threats against the country\u2019s top officials and incited to sedition.<\/p>\n
Duterte invoked freedom of expression in response to those allegations.<\/p>\n
But Diokno disagreed with the Vice President\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n
\u201cFreedom of speech is not absolute. There are limits to freedom of speech,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Diokno, however, said the prosecution would leave it to the impeachment court to resolve Duterte\u2019s arguments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will leave it to the impeachment court to resolve the arguments made by the Vice President. We are very, very ready to respond in the proper forum,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
House impeachment prosecutor Leila de Lima of Mamamayang Liberal Party-list echoed Diokno\u2019s sentiments, pointing out that while the prosecution disagrees with Duterte\u2019s position, it will raise its arguments at the proper time and in the proper forum.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m afraid that we cannot really dwell on that as extensively as we would, because that\u2019s already touching on the merits as part of the defense of the Vice President,\u201d De Lima said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe, of course, espouse the contrary view, but we\u2019d rather that we articulate on this in due time before the impeachment court,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, private prosecutor Benjamin \u201cJay\u201d Tolosa Jr. said the impeachment rules contemplate not only the filing of an answer but also the respondent\u2019s appearance before the Senate impeachment court.<\/p>\n
He noted that while Duterte has already complied with the requirement to submit her answer, the impeachment court has yet to direct her to personally appear.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd just to clarify, under the rules, it\u2019s expressly stated there that the impeachment court shall require the respondent to both file an answer and appear in court,\u201d Tolosa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far, in the issuances of the impeachment court, that second part, requiring her to appear, has not been done. So, we will wait for the impeachment court when it will find it appropriate to require her to do so,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The Vice President also faces allegations of misuse of confidential funds, bribery of Department of Education personnel and unexplained wealth. The Senate impeachment court is scheduled to begin trial on July 6. (PNA)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iginiit ng House prosecution na nararapat na personal na tugunan ni Vice President Sara Duterte ang mga alegasyon sa harap ng impeachment court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":258101,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-258100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-latest-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t