PASAY CITY, Philippines — The defense counsel for Vice President Sara Duterte issued an apology to members of the impeachment court on Tuesday, October 6, after several senators reported feeling intimidated by his statements during the trial the previous day.
Speaking before the court prior to resuming his cross-examination, Atty. Mark Vinluan clarified that the defense panel merely aimed to challenge the witness’s credibility rather than alarm the Senate body.
“In all humility, Your Honor, our intention in cross-examination is to test the credibility of the witness, among others, and part of testing that credibility is to confront him, not just with documents, but with salient provisions of the law, so that we can demonstrate whether or not his interpretation and application of the law is correct,” Vinluan stated in a manifestation.
“So, when we read portions of the law during our cross-examination, it is never our intention to cause intimidation, especially to the members of this honorable impeachment court,” Vinluan said.
“But if in any way a different message was indirectly conveyed, I personally apologize and commit to be more circumspect moving forward,” he added.
The apology follows concerns raised by several senators regarding Vinluan’s reference to provisions under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) concerning the unauthorized disclosure or leakage of information.
Addressing the issue during a press briefing on October 5, defense spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa reiterated that there was no intent to intimidate anyone involved in the proceedings.
“Well, definitely, we regret that they felt that way. I think for Attorney Vinluan, that was not the intention,” Poa said. “I think he was just reading the law and he just wanted to raise that with the witness. But again, we regret if any senator felt that way because, as you know, it’s not the intention to threaten anyone,” he added.
“That really wasn’t the intention, as I know, at what you’ve been doing. And the defense really did not intend to threaten anyone, or at least create a perception of threatening anyone,” Poa said. “And that, of course, includes the senator-judges, the witnesses, and even the media,” he added.
Vinluan reiterated that presenting statutory provisions remains a standard strategy to evaluate how accurately a witness interprets and applies the law.
Before proceeding with his line of questioning, he also briefly expressed his gratitude to Senator Lito Lapid for providing maja blanca.
The impeachment trial continued immediately following the defense’s manifestation.