Enrile, Gigi Reyes plunder trial to go on until next year

The plunder trial of former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, his former chief-of-staff Jessica "Gigi" Reyes, and other accused in the alleged misuse of P172 million of public discretionary funds, or pork barrel, will go on at least until January 2024.

That's after the anti-graft court allowed the request of Reyes' counsel, Atty. Christian Diaz, to allow the presentation of defense witness Yolanda Doblon at a later date because she was unavailable on Thursday, November 9.

Doblon, who works in the office of Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, was not able to testify due to the ongoing budget deliberations of the proposed P5.768 trillion budget for 2024 in the Senate. 

Diaz, however, said they will still present Reyes as a defense witness to defend herself against the plunder raps as scheduled on November 14.

The panel of government prosecutors did not object to Diaz's manifestation.

Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Bernelito Fernandez then said that while Doblon provided a date when she can testify, the date will coincide with the Christmas break, prompting him to suggest that Doblon’s testimony be heard on January 16, 2024 instead.

The Sandiganbayan, meanwhile, also granted Diaz’s subsequent manifestation that a subpoena ad testificandum be issued to Doblon to serve as a defense witness for Reyes in the plunder case.

“We will present her (Doblon) in open court,” Diaz responded when Associate Justice Fernandez said the defense panel should ensure that they will strictly comply with the rules on judicial affidavit of witnesses.

Presenting a witness in open court means the said witness’s testimony will be elicited by the counsel via direct examination before a cross examination is conducted by the opposing counsel.

A witness with a judicial affidavit, on the other hand, adopts his or her judicial affidavit before the court since the direct examination is already stated in such an affidavit.

Once the judicial affidavit is adopted as direct testimony, the opposing counsels can now subject his or her testimony to cross examination.

The plunder case against Enrile and his co accused was filed by state prosecutors in 2014. —VAL, GMA Integrated News