MANILA, Philippines — Senator-judge Miriam Defensor Santiago Sunday said the number of witnesses who will be presented by both the prosecution and the defense panels in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona doesn’t matter much as what is vital are
the weight and the quality of the witnesses’ testimonies.
“Ang mas maraming testigo hindi naman ibig sabihin mas marami siyang ebidensya.
Dahil ang sabi ng (More witnesses does not mean you have more pieces of evidence. Because according to the) rules, the preponderance of evidence is not necessarily with the greater number,” Santiago pointed out.
“Based on our rules of court, the witnesses should not be numbered but should be weighed. Pupuwede nga manalo ang isang panig na isa lang ang testigo nila – iyon ang ruling ng ating (One side can win even if they have only one witness. That is the ruling of our) Supreme Court,” she explained.
She said the Senate impeachment court may even move to trim down the number of witnesses that may be called to the witness stand.
Santiago, a veteran lawmaker and a former trial judge, said the impeachment court may “stop the introduction of further testimony” of witnesses who would only be called to corroborate the statements of another witness.
Several senator-judges had earlier voiced dismay over the 11-man prosecution panel’s plan to call some 100 witnesses to the trial as they projected that the number of persons they would be tapping to testify could drag the proceedings longer.
But under the rules of court, Santiago said the court may stop the presentation of additional testimony “at any particular point when the evidence upon it is already so poor that more witnesses that will claim point cannot be reasonably expected to be additionally persuasive.”
“But this power (of the impeachment court) should be exercised with caution lest the judge be accused of thwarting (the presentation of witnesses),” Santiago said in an interview over radio DZBB.
Santiago cautioned the prosecution panel from the House of Representatives, led by Iloilo City Rep. Neil Tupas that more witnesses would not automatically mean they can pin down Corona whom they accused of betraying public trust.
So on Monday’s resumption of the impeachment trial, the senator said she will ask lawyers from both camps to submit to the impeachment court a new list of their witnesses and indicate if the witness is a corroborative witness or hostile witness.
“Di kailangan damihan ng damihan ang testigo. Kung nakapag-testify na ang isa tungkol sa isang bagay na di na kailangan I corroborate pa. Or kung may corroborative witness ka isa lang, hindi naman sampu (10) na pare pareho ang sinasabi nila (this is not a battle of witnesses. When one has testified about one thing that does not need corroboration, or if there is a corroborative witness, they can call just one not 10 people who would utter the same statements),” she said.
Last Friday, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, presiding officer of the impeachment court, was astonished to learn that the prosecution panel has offered 100 witnesses for the trial and around 300 documents as pieces of evidence.
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said not all witnesses and documents submitted by the prosecution team may be used in the trial.
“It’s up to them, but we are ready to appraise first whatever is legally presented before us,” Sotto had earlier said adding that he is now “wondering on who is really delaying the proceedings.”
Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said he is prepared for a long trial but that “they are not obliged to call all of the witnesses.”
“A list is just a list. It’s even a non-binding list,” Pimentel said.
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