PASAY CITY, Philippines — Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV disclosed on Thursday, October 1, that he personally requested the House prosecution panel to withdraw his name from their list of witnesses in the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
The statement came shortly after Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro, the lead prosecutor, formally informed the Senate impeachment tribunal that the prosecution would no longer present the former lawmaker on the witness stand.
In a social media statement released Thursday, Trillanes explained the motivation behind his voluntary exit:
“Earlier in the day, I requested the House prosecution under Chair Jinky Luistro to formally withdraw my name as a witness for the prosecution.”
Without detailing the specific factors involved, the former Navy lieutenant added:
“This way, the prosecution panel would be relieved from the pressure it is going through.”
The development marks a sudden shift after weeks of build-up surrounding Trillanes’ anticipated appearance. Long known as a prominent adversary of the Duterte family, Trillanes has consistently matched the political clan’s assertive rhetoric word for word.
Despite stepping aside from the formal proceedings, the former senator emphasized that he would still publicly air his findings.
“Having said that, magco-conduct ako ng press con bukas para ipresenta lahat ng ilalabas ko dapat sa impeachment trial,” he announced.
The planned news briefing follows an ominous teaser posted by the Magdalo leader a day prior, in which he foreshadowed the release of new materials against the Vice President.
“I have a lot of new heavy evidence that I will release against Sara. Let the senator-judges and the people decide whether these are significant or not,” he previously wrote.
As of Thursday afternoon, specific details regarding the schedule and venue of his press conference have yet to be disclosed.