The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte said Monday it did not anticipate that senator-judges would question its witness about his overseas travels, including trips to China, during the 40th day of her impeachment trial.
Defense spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa said the camp was surprised by the line of questioning directed at Davao City Assessor Jaime Adalin, who testified that he personally paid for his trips to China, Australia and other countries.
“Hindi namin inexpect to be honest na matatanong yon. Hindi rin naman alam na may ganoong trip but the witness already mentioned na it was [a] personal [trip],” Poa said during a press conference after Monday's proceedings.
Poa said the defense could not prevent senator-judges from raising questions, adding that their inquiries could be part of the court's assessment of the witness' credibility and possible bias.
“I can only surmise ... they were trying to look at credibility, bias, yung mga ganoon na ginagawa naman talaga sa mga paglilitis,” he said.
He stressed that the senator-judges had the authority to ask questions they deemed necessary, as they would ultimately decide on the impeachment case.
“At the end of the day, they will be the ones deciding, so we have to let them ask the questions they want to ask,” Poa said.
Adalin faced scrutiny from senator-judges after he struggled to recall details of his foreign travels while maintaining that he funded the trips using his personal money and not using government funds.
