The House prosecution panel could call between 20 and 25 witnesses to substantiate allegations of unexplained wealth against Vice President Sara Duterte, depending on whether her defense team agrees to authenticate key financial records, Manila 3rd District Representative Joel Chua said Wednesday.
Chua, a member of the prosecution panel, explained that the witness list could be trimmed down to roughly 10 if the defense concurs with stipulations regarding bank documents and other financial filings.
Without a agreement, prosecutors plan to summon representatives from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and several commercial banks.
“If they will agree to the stipulation of facts and authenticity of the bank records, we can save at least 15 witnesses,” Chua said.
“If they don’t agree, then we could have 20 to 25 witnesses,” he added.
The prosecution team is currently marking thousands of financial documents related to the unexplained wealth charge, which Chua noted could serve as the strongest pillar of their overall case. Document marking is expected to conclude on Thursday.
The panel is also considering summoning Vice President Duterte as its final witness to address the core allegations, though Chua acknowledged her defense counsel could exercise her constitutional right against self-incrimination.
“She is at the center of all four articles, so she can answer all the questions,” Chua said.
The prosecution has not yet formally requested a subpoena for the Vice President, pending a decision from the impeachment court on the matter.