Home » » Surigao lawmaker hits 4 witnesses’ testimony

Surigao lawmaker hits 4 witnesses’ testimony

A CONGRESSMAN from Surigao del Norte, who was charged with graft for the overpricing of medicine and medical supplies, has urged the Sandiganbayan government lawyers’ request to take the deposition of four witnesses against him and 10 co-accused.

Citing technicalities in the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rep. Francisco Matugas asked the court not to allow government lawyers to take the depositions of lawyer Rene Medina, provincial board member Victor Bernal, former Vice Gov. Rodolfo Navarro and businesswoman Mary Ann Yparraguirre, the possible witnesses against him.

Matugas argued the law only allows conditional examination of potential witnesses but only under specific circumstances like serious sickness or infirmity; or if the witness is leaving the country with no definite date of return.

The motion to take oral deposition may not be legally granted as the same is no longer allowed by the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure, Matugas and former provincial administrator Carlos Egay noted their joint motion.

Egay and another co-defendant, businessman Ernesto Bravo of Martin Pharmaceutical Laboratory Inc., also signed the motion.

“There is no procedural ground available to grant prosecution’s motion for oral depositions of its witnesses or even their conditional examinations. For sure, distance and financial constraints are not valid reasons since the Republic of the Philippines is assumed to have the facilities for making [its witnesses] available during scheduled hearings,” Bravo said in his pleading.

Matugas had earlier asked the court to drop him from the case because he had no participation in the bidding and awarding of the contracts and claimed that his indictment was the result of pressure and influence exerted by his political opponents in his province.

But Prosecutor Julieta Zinnia Niduaza said the four possible witnesses could not personally appear in court because they all live in Surigao del Norte and could not afford to come to Manila for the hearing.

-manilastandardtoday

Share:

No comments:

Popular Posts

Featured

Siargaonon women surfers dominate Pilipinas Surfing Nationals in Baler

Three Siargaonon women surfers went victorious during the Pilipinas Surfing Nationals  Leg 2 in Baler, Aurora recently. Nilbie Blancada (C...

Home Top Ad

Post Top Ad

Archive

Car News

{getPosts} $results={4} $label={Cars} $type={block2}

Post Bottom Ad

Responsive Ads Here

Fashion

News

Food

Sports

Food

Technology

Featured

Videos

نموذج الاتصال

Name

Email *

Message *

About Us

There are many variations of passages of Lorem Ipsum available.

Popular Posts

Categories

Blog Archive

Recent Posts

Unordered List

  • Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
  • Aliquam tincidunt mauris eu risus.
  • Vestibulum auctor dapibus neque.

Sample Text

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation test link ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate another link velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

Pages

Theme Support

Need our help to upload or customize this blogger template? Contact me with details about the theme customization you need.
Copyright © SURIGAO Today | Powered by Blogger