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Impeachment Trial - Day 20
The Presiding Officer ruled that a widely circulated image purporting to show a witness wearing an earpiece was AI-generated and false, and directed that all witnesses testify solely from their own knowledge, free from coaching or influence. The court also sustained a defense objection holding a military witness incompetent to answer whether the Department of Education spent confidential funds. The prosecution's presentation on Article I continued with testimony from Army civil-military operations officers concerning Youth Leadership Summit certifications, and the parties stipulated to a set of common exhibits.
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Session record
Claims introduced or updated
- No new standing claim cards were added this session; existing cards were updated.
- The card 'The ₱612.5M confidential-funds charge' (Article I) was updated: prosecution counsel stated that DepEd submitted an Army certification to the COA Intelligence and Confidential Funds Auditing Office to support ₱15,540,000 allegedly paid as rewards from DepEd confidential funds, expenses questioned in COA Audit Observation Memorandum No. 2024-015 dated January 1, 2024.
Evidence & exhibits
- An Army certification dated January 1, 2024, signed by the Assistant Chief of Staff for Civil-Military Operations (G7) of the 1st Infantry Tabak Division and previously marked as Prosecution Exhibit P-RN No. 1-22-A, was identified by its signatory, who testified that the signature on the copy shown was his.
- Prosecution counsel stated that the certification attests to the conduct of eight Youth Leadership Summit activities with 531 participants and an information education campaign of 53 activities with 9,428 participants in different schools within the command's area of operations.
- The parties stipulated to the common exhibits, including COA Audit Observation Memoranda on DepEd, DepEd responses and transmittal letters, and certifications issued by AFP officers including Colonel Boransing pertaining to YLS and IECs, with the court noting that no further proof need be presented for the stipulated documents.
- The parties stipulated to Prosecution Exhibit P-AI-22-C-1 (also marked Defense Exhibit D-I-83-DE), a document on Joint 7ID–DepEd Anti-Insurgency Campaign data for January 1 to December 31, 2023, dated December 5, 2023 and signed by a Philippine Army major and Lieutenant Colonel Magtanggol Panopio.
- Prosecution counsel stated that among the newly stipulated documents is DepEd's letter-reply to COA Audit Observation Memorandum 2024-05, dated April 17, 2024, addressed to Hon. Nilda B. Plaras of COA and signed by Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Atty. Michael Wesley T. Poa.
- Prosecution counsel requested and played Part 5 (about 4 minutes 30 seconds) of video Exhibit P-RN No. 1-1-C-I, part of the videos for which the impeachment court has taken judicial notice, to refresh the witness's memory.
- A transcript of the October 17, 2024 House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability hearing was shown to the witness, who testified that he saw his own statements in it.
Court rulings
- The Presiding Officer ruled that a widely circulated image purporting to show a witness wearing an earpiece was AI-generated and false, and that what the witness had was a front fold helix ear piercing, not an earpiece.
- The Presiding Officer directed that every witness must testify solely from their own knowledge, free from coaching or influence from counsel or any other person, citing Section 21E of AM No. 24-1102 of the Supreme Court as the underlying principle.
- The Presiding Officer sustained a defense objection on the ground that the witness was incompetent to answer whether DepEd spent confidential funds.
- The Presiding Officer stated that the impeachment court has taken judicial notice of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability proceedings, but only as to the existence of the hearings and the statements made therein, not as to the truth of those statements.
- The Presiding Officer directed the Clerk of Court to furnish the parties with USB and hard copies of the banks' submissions after review by the court.
- The Presiding Officer directed the Clerk of Court to continue marking additional exhibits with the parties at the Recto Room at 4 p.m.
Open questions
- Will Attorney Michael Poa testify as the prosecution's first witness in the next session, and will the PSA representative be presented if time permits?
- How will the court's ongoing review of the banks' submissions shape the parties' use of that material once USB and hard copies are furnished?
- How will the record address the discrepancy between the eight Youth Leadership Summit activities stated in the certification and the nine YLS activities mentioned in the letter of General Bajao to Usec Mempin, as noted by the Presiding Officer?
- Through which witnesses, if any, will questions about whether DepEd confidential or intelligence funds reached Army units be pursued, following the court's ruling that this witness was incompetent to answer?