Vice President Sara Duterte's defense team has dropped 15 bank representatives and a barangay captain from its witness list in the ongoing impeachment trial.
The announcement came late Wednesday from defense counsel Michael Poa, who stated that they would retain only lawyer Paul Roderick Ysmael of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).
In the interest of time and as we don’t want to waste the time of the court... we would be dispensing with the testimonies of the bank representatives, except for the BPI bank representative.
Michael Poa, Defense Counsel
In addition to the bank representatives, the defense has also withdrawn the testimony of barangay captain Cindy Colina from Matina Crossing, Davao City.
Lead defense counsel Sheila Sison indicated that while Colina would not testify, the team might later request the impeachment court to take judicial notice of the barangay’s geographical divisions.
This is of course without prejudice to any subsequent motion that we will make on the court’s taking judicial notice of the geographical divisions with respect to the subject barangay.
Sheila Sison, Lead Defense Counsel
The defense team is also preparing to submit a motion regarding the testimonies of key witnesses, including a request for the impeachment court to consider the implications of the defense's strategy.
This follows the recent developments where a defense witness fails to submit crucial documents related to the case, raising concerns about the trial's progress.