By Wilnard Bacelonia
MANILA – The Senate impeachment court suspended further proceedings in Vice President Sara Duterte’s trial until Monday after her defense sought more time to examine dozens of boxes of Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) records and raised a fresh challenge over their confidentiality.
Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero granted the defense time to prepare for the presentation and cross-examination of AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura, whose testimony had originally been expected to continue Thursday afternoon and Friday. Buenaventura had been subpoenaed for Oct. 1 and 2.
The trial will resume Monday, Oct. 5, at 10 a.m., with Buenaventura expected to take the witness stand.
Defense lead counsel Sheila Sison said summaries submitted by Buenaventura were received by their office Thursday morning but reached the defense team only shortly before lunch.
She said the 11-page submission and its annexes were marked “strictly confidential,” while AMLC’s cover letter expressly stated that the council was not waiving confidentiality over its records.
Sison added that the defense would have to review about 23 to 24 boxes of documents before it could intelligently respond to the prosecution’s questioning, prepare objections and cross-examine the AMLC witness.
The confidentiality issue centers on provisions of Republic Act 9160, or the Anti-Money Laundering Act, as amended by RA 11521.
The prosecution argued the court had already addressed the issue when it authorized subpoenas for specified AMLC records in July, ruling that the confidentiality provision could not defeat the Senate impeachment court’s lawful subpoena power.
The July ruling allowed selected AMLC, bank and tax records after finding them prima facie relevant to Article II, which deals with allegations of unexplained wealth.
House prosecutor Chel Diokno told the court that the confidentiality provision was intended to prevent unauthorized disclosures by AMLC personnel, not compliance with a lawful subpoena.
“If the court, as claimed by the defense counsel, recognized the absolute confidentiality, then why did it issue the subpoena in the first place?” Diokno said.
Sison countered that the defense was not merely seeking time for cross-examination but also wanted an opportunity to comment properly on the offer of testimonial evidence and raise objections to the disclosure of the records.
Escudero said the senator-judges would review the relevant provisions of the anti-money laundering law before the issue is settled, either in caucus or in open session on Monday.
“The chair grants the time requested by the counsel for respondent” to prepare for the AMLC witness, he said.
Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano supported giving the defense the weekend to study the material, saying the court must balance speed with fairness in a trial involving extensive financial evidence.
“The result is important, but the process is as important,” Cayetano said, noting that the defense was asking only for the remainder of Thursday and Friday to prepare.
Senator-judge Francis Pangilinan likewise described the delay as reasonable, saying one lost trial day would give both sides time to process the records and prepare.
When proceedings resume, the prosecution said it intends to begin with the AMLC executive director before presenting representatives of banks and insurance companies, followed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Escudero directed prosecutors to furnish the defense, whenever possible, copies of tables or summaries at least a day before witnesses use them to prevent a similar dispute over preparation
