Prosecution to formally offer evidence

MANILA, Philippines —The House prosecution team will formally offer its evidence to the Senate, acting as impeachment court  on Friday, a spokesman from the team said.

In a telephone interview, prosecution spokesman and Marikina City Representative Romero Quimbo said the panel has prepared the formal offer and will submit the document any time within the day.

Quimbo said that the prosecution will offer 247 documents as evidence, including Chief Justice Renato Corona’s statement of assets, liabilities and net worth, land titles of properties allegedly not declared by the Chief Justice.

The prosecutors will also formally offer as evidence the video footages of the press conference of Supreme Court spokesman Midas Marquez last November 15, announcing the temporary restraining order on the travel ban for former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo; the alleged attempt of Arroyo to leave the country that same day and; the attempt by Arroyo’s lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, to pay the P2 million cash bond which was part of the condition stated in the TRO.

Meanwhile, Corona’s defense panel said it will study first the list of evidence that the prosecution will be offering before filing its opposition.
“We will study it, we will read it, then we will file our opposition,” defense spokesman Atty. Tranquil Salvador said in a separate interview.

Salvador said the defense has yet to decide which documents the panel will request the Senate to strike out. He also said that Corona’s SALN, land titles and some other documentary evidence of the prosecution will also be used as evidence by the defense.

“These are commonly marked documents so will not oppose them,” he said.

When asked if the Senate has issued a ruling on its motion to suppress evidence which the panel filed earlier this week, Salvador said that the defense was not expecting the court to rule on the matter now.

“The Senate has said that they will discuss our motion in their caucus on Monday but I think they will defer any ruling on that now since the prosecution will formally offer their evidence and we will file our opposition,” Salvador said.

The defense team earlier filed a motion to suppress the inclusion of the evidence pertaining to Corona’s alleged bank accounts in Philippine Savings Bank since the supposed bank document initially presented by the prosecution as basis for their allegations that Corona has numerous bank accounts was illegally obtained.

The Senate has given the defense team until Wednesday next week to file its opposition, he added.