Why 'unwilling' witnesses are on the House prosecution list

Why 'unwilling' witnesses are on the House prosecution list MANILA, Philippines — A member of the House prosecution panel clarified the inclusion of hostile witnesses who might not voluntarily testify in the impeachment court for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. House prosecutor and Rep. Joel Chua (Manila, 3rd District) said that the "hostile" or "unwilling" witnesses are not automatically required to attend the trial, but prosecutors only included them in the list in case they would be needed to further strengthen the case. “Pero kung dumating po sa punto na sa tingin namin ay matibay na yung testimonya at hindi na sila kakailanganin eh malamang sa malamang po ay hindi naman din sila ipatawag,” Chua said in an interview with dzBB on Sunday, June 28. (But if it comes to a point when we think testimonies are strong enough and they are no longer needed, then probably they [hostile witnesses] will not be be summoned) On the other hand, if presenting the hostile witnesses would be necessary for the case, Chua said they would be relying on the Senate impeachment court’s power to issue a subpoena for these personalities to testify. Chua’s clarification comes after the former Davao City court sheriff Abe Andres released a statement on Friday, June 26, saying he “refuse to comment on the incident” in 2011 when he was punched by then mayor Sara Duterte. Andres was included in the list of potential witnesses by the prosecution for the Article IV of Duterte’s impeachment case, which accuses her of alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and high crimes for her assassination remark against President Bongbong Marcos Jr. “Please do not involve me in any partisan political matters,” Andres said. Chua earlier explained that the prosecutors planned to present Andres to establish Duterte’s alleged violent behavior. Senate impeachment court Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. announced that the impeachment trial against Duterte is set to begin on July 6 at 2 p.m. Trials will be conducted from Monday to Wednesday before the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of the President on July 27. After SONA, trials will be rescheduled to Tuesday until Thursday in the afternoon. - Latest - Trending