MANILA — The House prosecution panel welcomed the latest rulings of the impeachment court which they said would help expedite the trial proceedings on confidential funds, which rely heavily on thousands of documentary evidence.
The impeachment court granted the prosecution’s request to allow both parties to jointly examine all 4,492 documents contained in all 15 boxes of the prosecution on Thursday and Friday outside the courtroom, under the supervision of the clerk of court.
“Nakita niyo naman kanina sa pag-examine lang ng 845 documents halos isang oras na what more kung 4,492 documents?… So hopefully mas mabilis ang testimony of the witness,” private prosecutor Atty. Lorna Kapunan said, referring to how the testimony of the prosecution’s second COA witness was cut short after both sides spent time examining 845 documents.
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Kapunan stressed that the defense had already seen the same documents they declined to stipulate during the pre-trial.
“Sa pre-trial, every document na yan lahat ng mga acknowledgement receipts, tatlo ang pumirmang signature: yung clerk of court, kami sa prosecution, tsaka yung defense. So makikita niyo naman na nakita na nila yan. There is no surprise,” she said.
Among the documents the defense refused to stipulate were the notices of disallowance and acknowledgment receipts. House prosecutor Rep. Joel Chua questioned the move, noting that the acknowledgment receipts had originally come from the Office of the Vice President.
“Yun naman yung acknowledgement receipts na mga nanggaling din naman sa kanila… Ngayon tinatanggi na nila eh samantalang sa kanila rin galing yung mga acknowledgement receipts na yun.”
The impeachment court also granted the prosecution’s request to take judicial notice of selected House quad committee records, transcripts, and reports, while clarifying that the notice is limited to recognizing that the hearings took place.
“Kung walang judicial notice sa mga transcripts ng House hearings ng congressmen natin, isa-isa nila pupuntahan yung mga pages ng hearings na yan,” Kapunan said, welcoming the ruling as another measure that could speed up the proceedings.
The defense had earlier opposed the request, arguing that the House proceedings amounted to a "mini-trial" and insisting that evidence should only be formally examined before the impeachment court.
The House prosecution, however, clarified that the judicial notice does not establish the truth of the testimonies or evidence presented during the House hearings, but merely acknowledges that the hearings occurred.
“Judicial notice will just say that in that hearing, there was a witness that appeared. Hindi naman sinasabi na hindi na kailangan mag-testify dito sa Senate yung witness na dumating doon,” Kapunan said.
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Chua said the defense’s opposition to the judicial notice could be intended to delay the proceedings.
“Well that is one way of prolonging the case, di ba? So siyempre gusto nila lahat patunayan ninyo.”
House prosecution spokesperson Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong likewise said he believes the defense's position reflects its refusal to recognize the impeachment hearings conducted by the House of Representatives.
“And maybe to prove that apart from they do not recognize the hearings, ay gusto din nila the court will treat the hearings as if it never happened by recognizing that such hearing and such discussion took place,” he added.
Beyond expediting the confidential funds hearings, Kapunan said the court’s recent orders would help sustain public interest in the impeachment proceedings while ensuring that the review of thousands of documentary evidence is not rushed or compromised.
“Hindi pwedeng iwasan yung mga number of documents… Parang na-bobore na (ang tao) parang hindi na interested ang dami-daming stipulation, ang daming judicial notice diyan... Ganon talaga yun kasi dapat talaga malinaw ang evidence at convincing kasi hindi lang naman pang-entertainment ito. Ito ay para sa atin.” Kapunan said.