The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, January 16, 2019. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
EVIDENCE presented before the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding extrajudicial killings (EJKs) linked to former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte may be considered in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, a House prosecutor revealed.
House Assistant Majority Leader Jil Bongalon of Ako Bicol Party-list said the prosecution is open to using new evidence from the ICC if it strengthens the impeachment case.
“We can consider that because again all evidence that will of course make our case more strong or stronger, definitely can be used against the impeachment complaint,” Bongalon said.
He noted that while the Articles of Impeachment had already been filed before the Senate and included voluminous pieces of evidence, new testimonial evidence or additional witnesses could still be considered.
“If there are other testimonial evidence, other witnesses who are willing to testify before the Senate sitting as an impeachment trial court, definitely we can consider that,” he added.
Bongalon, however, emphasized that any new evidence must first be studied and discussed among the public and private prosecutors handling the case.
Meanwhile, Bongalon also reacted to reports that VP Duterte flew to the Netherlands following the arrest of her father, former President Duterte, who is now en route to The Hague to face trial at the ICC.
“The first thing that comes on my mind probably, nawalan na po ng isang defense lawyer si VP Sara. Right?” Bongalon said.
He pointed out that the former president had previously signified his intent to serve as a legal counsel for his daughter in her impeachment case.
“Kasi ‘di ba nung pumutok ‘yung issue about the impeachment, isa sa mga nag-signify that will stand as a legal counsel will be former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” he explained.
Bongalon, who is among the House prosecutors, also confirmed that he had been assigned to handle two key articles of impeachment against the Vice President.
“Well, I was tasked to handle Article 2 of the articles of impeachment plus Article 3. We are given the free will to join other Articles, but I guess these two articles are already enough for me to handle,” he said.
He explained that Article 2 covers the alleged misuse of confidential funds in the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, while Article 3 pertains to bribery involving DepEd officials.
“These are the matters that were discussed thoroughly in the investigations of the Committee on Good Government. So, with these two articles for me, sapat na para sa akin i-handle at pag-aralan,” Bongalon said.
He added that the House prosecution team had already divided the articles among its members in preparation for the impeachment trial
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