Matibag to testify before Senate impeachment court on July 20

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate impeachment court has issued a subpoena for National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag to testify before the body on July 20.

This is after the House prosecution panel initially requested to have Matibag appear at the trial on Tuesday, July 14 as he is set to attend a regional summit on transnational crime hosted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Royal Thai Police.

However, Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano and Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian objected to the request.

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Gatchalian later decided during the conclusion of Monday’s trial, however, to instead have Matibag appear before the impeachment court next Monday, July 20.

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“I was looking at the letter from the NBI, and indeed the activity in Bangkok is quite important. It is the regional summit on scam center compounds and transnational organized crime which will be held on Tuesday (July 21), ” said Gatchalian.

“What we can do is to allow him to come here on Monday and propound our questions and if ever we don’t finish it we can ask him to come back again after his activity in Bangkok,” he added.

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The rest of the parties and the court concurred, with Presiding Officer and Senator-Judge Francis “Chiz” Escudero ordering the issuance of a subpoena for Matibag on Monday.

“With the understanding of course that the testimony of the witness will be meaningless unless he is cross examined by the other party,” said Escudero.

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“So, should we not finish his testimony on Monday, it shall be continued on the next trial date until the cross-examination,” he added. /cb

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