The defense panel on Thursday dropped City Prosecutor Vimar Barcellano as a witness in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte after the House prosecution panel agreed to stipulate public documents from the Quezon City Office of the City Prosecutor.
The agreement means Barcellano no longer needs to testify to authenticate the documents, which both parties agreed could be recognized as public records.
Defense lawyer Sheila Sison told the Senate impeachment court that Barcellano was supposed to be the defense's last witness for the day and would only identify and authenticate certified true copies of documents he brought to the hearing.
But prosecution lawyer Amando Virgil Descartin Ligutan said there was no need for the witness to testify, as the prosecution was willing to stipulate that the documents existed.
Presiding Officer Sen. Francis Escudero said the documents could be presented for marking at the proper time, in accordance with the agreement, provided they were all public records originating from the Quezon City prosecutor's office.
With the prosecution's stipulation, Sison informed the court that the defense would no longer present Barcellano as a witness.
Meanwhile, Sison said the defense expects to present eight to 10 more witnesses in the succeeding hearings.
