Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte gideklarang hostile witness sa Senate impeachment court!

GIDEKLARAR sa Senate impeachment court si Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte isip hostile witness!
Alang sa impeachment trial sa igsuon nga si Vice President Sara Duterte.
Gibutyag ni Private Prosecutor Atty. Theodore Te nga daan nang gi-publicly prejudged sa Mayor ang kaso.
Pinaagi sa pamahayag nga ang impeachment nagtumong sa pagpugong sa igsuon niini nga makadaog sa 2028 presidential elections ug gihulagway ang proceedings nga “so-called lawful”.

“..Now, Mr. Witness, earlier it was mentioned that a subpoena was issued to you. Do you confirm that, sir? Yes, sir. Do you confirm receipt of the subpoena, sir? Yes, sir.
Thank you. And, Mr. Witness, you are here only because your attendance was compelled by subpoena. Is that correct? Yes, I honored the subpoena.
Thank you. So you are here only because you were asked to be here by the subpoena. Of course.
Thank you, sir. Were it not for the subpoena, you would not, well, you would not voluntarily be testifying here, sir. Of course.
Thank you, sir. Mr. Court, we believe, Your Honor, that with that foundation, the prosecution has laid the basis for this honorable impeachment court to characterize the testimony of the witness as hostile or adverse to the prosecution, Your Honor. Mayor Duterte is the respondent vice president’s younger brother from the same set of parents.
He has publicly prejudged this case as political persecution. He characterizes the proceedings as so-called lawful. He has not volunteered his participation as a witness for the prosecution and admits that he is present only because he is compelled to be here by the subpoena of the court.
And therefore, Your Honor, with respect, we believe that the prosecution has satisfied the requirements under Rule 132, Section 13 of the Rules of Evidence as a hostile witness. And for this reason, Your Honor, may we request that the impeachment court characterize the witness as a hostile witness and that the prosecution then be allowed to ask leading questions, Your Honor..”
Private Prosecutor Atty. Theodore Te

Samtang, gisulayan pagbabag ni defense counsel Atty. Justin Gular ang prosekusyon sa pag-deklara isip hostile witness kang Baste..”

“..We do not think that they were able to qualify the witness as a hostile witness, Your Honor. Number one, Your Honor, political statements do not establish hostility towards this court, and there was no hostile statement made by the witness towards this court, Your Honor. Secondly, Your Honor, with respect to the question propounded by the good counsel from the prosecution implying that the witness today has taken the same position or alleged position of the respondent in respect to the proceedings of this court is a conclusion that was derived merely from the prosecution’s own perception, not by the testimony of the witness.
And third, and most importantly, Your Honor, just because the witness attended this hearing by virtue of a subpoena and that he admitted that he would not otherwise testify before this court without that subpoena does not qualify him as an unwilling, as one that is unwilling to testify, Your Honor. It is within his freedoms, Your Honor, to testify or not with the impeachment court. In fact, he stated clearly that he honored the subpoena of this impeachment court.
Clearly, Your Honor, none of the qualifications for a witness to be declared as hostile has been established by the preliminary questions of the counsel for the prosecution, with all due respect, of course..”
defense counsel Atty. Justin Gular

SOURCE: NEWS5
PHOTO: SUPERBALITA DAVAO