Former senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV will no longer testify in Vice President Inday Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial after the House prosecution panel decided to drop him from its witness lineup, days after seeking to present him before the Senate impeachment court.
Lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro informed the court on Thursday that the prosecution had reached its “final decision” not to present Trillanes. The panel did not immediately give a detailed reason for abandoning his testimony.
The decision came after Trillanes had publicly said he was ready to testify and after prosecutor Rep. Terry Ridon moved on Sept. 29 to add him as a witness in connection with alleged funds and bank accounts linked to Duterte.
During that hearing, presiding officer Chiz Escudero pointed out that the prosecution’s own motion tied Trillanes’ proposed testimony to bank records that had not yet been presented before the impeachment court. Escudero said Trillanes would more properly come after testimony from the Anti-Money Laundering Council or after the relevant bank records had been introduced.
The court did not bar Trillanes from taking the stand.
Escudero expressly told prosecutors that they remained free to call him voluntarily even without a subpoena, saying the court “cannot prevent” the prosecution from presenting a witness in the order it deemed proper. The defense likewise withdrew its objection and said prosecutors could proceed with Trillanes if they wanted to.
The distinction became significant after criticism was directed at Escudero over Trillanes’ delayed appearance. Suspended lawyer Jesus Falcis also suggested on social media that “politics and some Senator-Judges” were behind the resistance to Trillanes’ testimony, although the posts shown did not identify evidence linking Escudero to a decision to drop the witness.
Falcis is serving a one-year suspension from the practice of law after the Supreme Court found him guilty of simple misconduct over vulgar language used in a social media post.
The prosecution ultimately made the decision itself.
Trillanes had been available to testify, the court had left a voluntary appearance open, and the defense was prepared to face him. But before he could take the stand, the House prosecution panel decided he would no longer be part of its case.
