Senator Raffy Tulfo warned Davao City Accountant Vingelin Bajan with a contempt citation on Tuesday, November 10, accusing her of evading questions from the prosecution during Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.
As a senator-judge, Tulfo contrasted Bajan’s demeanor with that of Davao City Assessor Jaime Adalin, who testified before the Senate impeachment court on Monday.
“Kahapon, yung witness, isang witness, tatawa-tawa. Ngayon, ito very evasive, nagmaang-maangan,” Tulfo said.
“Patikman kaya natin ma-contempt mga ito, nang sa gayon magkaroon ng respeto sa impeachment court,” the senator-judge added.
Tulfo criticized the witnesses for displaying a lack of respect toward the proceedings through laughter or evasiveness, suggesting that sanctions should be enforced to set an example. He specifically focused on Bajan’s failure to verify whether a signature on documents submitted by the prosecution belonged to her.
“Natatakot ako para sa’yo. Kasi, napakasimple namang katanungan. And you’re very, very evasive, at hindi mo masagot-sagot,” Tulfo told the witness.
“Yung katanungan lang kung signature mo ‘yun— oo o hindi; hindi mo masagot-sagot,” he added.
Warning that the proceedings could extend into early Wednesday if Bajan continued to withhold direct answers, Tulfo noted that the senator-judges might lose patience and formally cite her for contempt.
Bajan, appearing as the third defense witness in the impeachment trial, previously faced scrutiny for stating she did not recognize an accounting firm document carrying her name and was unable to remember her own signature.