Escudero seeks for public patience amid Poa's testimony

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Wednesday asked for the understanding and patience of the public and senator-judges as the defense and prosecution panels clashed amid the testimony of Atty. Michael Poa in the trial.

Escudero said this on the 21st day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, as prosecution counsel and spokesperson Benjamin Tolosa Jr. and defense lead counsel Sheila Sison exchanged heated words while Poa was on the witness stand to testify on the alleged misuse of confidential funds.

“Para sa kaalaman din po ng kapwa ko senator-judges at mga sumusubaybay, mahirap na nga po na may dalawang abogadong nagkakaroon ng tagisan ng talino, gawin pa nating tatlo. Kaya pag-unawa lang po at pasensya ang hinihiling namin,” the presiding officer said.

(For the information of my fellow senator-judges and those watching the proceedings, it is difficult enough for two lawyers to have a battle of wits, let alone three. So we just ask for understanding and patience.)

“Parte po ito ng proseso para mapangalagaan hindi lamang ang karapatan ng respondent, pero pati ng testigo,” he added.

(This is part of the process to protect not only the rights of the respondent, but also the rights of the witness.)

Poa, who is part of the defense team, was called by the House prosecution team as witness in the trial. On Wednesday, he was declared as a hostile witness by the impeachment court.

At one point during Poa’s direct examination, Escudero said that he could no longer understand the points that the counsels were raising as Tolosa and Sison were at each other's throats.

While Tolosa was offering the testimony of the witness, he alleged that the Vice President chose Poa as “the man who knew nothing” to answer the state auditors.

Sison countered, saying that Tolosa’s claims “sound really just rhetoric aimed to provide drama in this proceeding.”

Escudero later ruled to strike off the record the line “abogadong walang alam” (lawyer who knows nothing) from Tolosa’s offer of testimony following Sison’s objection.

Tolosa and Sison also argued regarding the presentation of playback videos of former House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability hearings during the trial.

Poa served as undersecretary, chief of staff, and spokesperson of DepEd during Duterte’s stint as Education secretary. — RSJ, GMA News