Non-issuance of Trillanes subpoena wasn't just Escudero's decision — Lacson

Senator-judge Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said Saturday the decision not to subpoena former senator Antonio Trillanes IV as a witness in the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte did not rest solely with impeachment presiding officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero.

Despite being listed as a witness in Duterte's impeachment trial, the House prosecution panel on Thursday withdrew Trillanes upon his request. The former senator opted to disclose his claims against the Dutertes at a press conference on Friday, saying he was not welcome at the impeachment court. He also asked the public to keep an eye on the presiding officer.

"Just so the public knows: not to defend the Impeachment Court's presiding officer, but the decision not to subpoena former Sen. Sonny Trillanes wasn't made by him alone," Lacson wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

"In fairness to former Sen. Sonny Trillanes, masustansya ang kanyang research (his research is in-depth). The main issue is its evidentiary value for prosecutorial purposes due to his apparent lack of personal knowledge," he added.

Meanwhile, impeachment court spokesperson Regie Tongol said it was the prosecution which did not name Trillanes in time for the issuance of a subpoena. He reiterated that despite this, Trillanes still would have been allowed to sit as a voluntary witness.

During his press conference on Friday, Trillanes accused Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio, of receiving hundreds of millions of pesos from China through their respective organizations. According to Trillanes, Duterte accepted P150 million from the Chinese Embassy through her foundation, while Carpio accepted P319 million through his business.

"Ito na ang paraan ng China ng pagsuporta sa mag-asawang Duterte, maliwanag po ito. Kaya dapat kikilabutan po tayo rito, kasi vice president po siya, may national security implications, bawal po 'yan," Trillanes said.

(This is how China is supporting the Duterte couple; it is clear. So we should be afraid, because she is the vice president; there is a national security concern, this is not allowed.)

Also on Saturday, Duterte's camp rejected Trillanes' allegations, saying the former senator has been lying about the vice president and members of her family for years.

Duterte's spokesperson Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr. said, "Since 2016, former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has been peddling the same exhausted lies regarding Extrajudicial Killings (EJKs), fabricated drug links, imaginary unexplained wealth, baseless corruption allegations, and fictional China connections against the Duterte family."

He also called out Trillanes for making the claims in the Senate impeachment, where he could have been under oath and questioned by the vice president's defense team.

"This sudden retreat is absolute proof that his claims cannot survive real legal scrutiny, and are nothing but black propaganda, which is par for the course for a professional character assassin," Panelo said. — VDV, GMA News