House prosecutors withdraw request for Sara Duterte to admit bank accounts

The House prosecution panel on Monday withdrew its request for admission seeking Vice President Sara Duterte’s acknowledgment that she owned the bank accounts whose records were ordered submitted by the banks to the Senate impeachment court.

Official response and confirmed impact

In a manifestation during the 28th day of the impeachment trial, House prosecutor Chel Diokno of Akbayan party-list instead asked the defense to agree to stipulations, or agreements, on the authenticity of the bank records.

In putting forward the stipulations, Diokno argued that the accuracy of the bank documents “is not genuinely in dispute.”

“The request for admission is not being invoked to alter the burden of proof or to compel the respondent to establish the prosecution’s case and will not have that effect.

Its purpose is simply to narrow the issues and avoid the needless presentation of witnesses and evidence on matters that are not genuinely disputed,” Diokno said during Day 30 of the impeachment trial.

“To be clear, the respondent has not made any claim that they are fake or fabricated.

We will withdraw our request for admission if the respondent will agree to this,” Diokno added.