Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV arrives at the Senate in Pasay City on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, as he is scheduled to testify on the 31st day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV will no longer take the witness stand for the prosecution in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, the panel said Thursday.
"The prosecution has finally decided not to present former senator Sonny Trillanes," lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro told the impeachment court.
"We seek the kind indulgence of the impeachment court for the belated final position on this particular concern," she said.
Luistro did not say why Trillanes was dropped from the witness list.
Trillanes on Wednesday said he had “a lot of new heavy evidence that I will release against Sara.”
“Let the Senator-judges and the people decide whether these are significant or not,” he said on X.
Antonio Trillanes appears at Senate
The prosecution sought a subpoena for Trillanes in connection with its presentation of evidence for Article II of the impeachment complaint, which accuses Duterte of unexplained wealth and inaccurate declarations in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs).
But the impeachment court on Tuesday deferred the issuance of a subpoena for Trillanes and advised prosecutors to first present the Anti-Money Laundering Council officer and bank officials or records that he could testify on.
Impeachment court warns prosecution vs presenting Trillanes before bank records scrutiny
While Trillanes could have been "valuable" in providing context for the AMLC records, the defense could argue that his testimony is hearsay, University of the Philippines College of Law Assistant Professor Michael Tiu told ANC.
"The prosecution might think that in the end, kung masu-sustain lang din naman lahat ng objection ng defense dito sa mga tanong sa kanya, mawawalan din ng value in the eyes of the senator-judges. Also, it will give the senator-judges, at least some of them, another platform to say, 'Kita mo, wala naman talagang direktang ebidensya,'" Tiu said.
"Part d'yan is also a technical aspect... Does this witness come to the stand only bringing information? Or is there bias or is there some prejudice that already taints [the testimony]?" he added.
Trillanes scorns Baste Duterte for ‘ignorance’ on Sara's business interests
OTHER WITNESSES
On Oct. 2, Friday, the prosecution said it was anticipating that the presentation of the Anti–Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura would continue, Luistro said.
"We lament, Your Honor, that we have no other witness to be presented tomorrow. Thus, we will be constrained for the deferment of the presentation should the AMLC executive director conclude early his presentation on Friday," she added.
Luistro said the prosecution would present witnesses from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Monda, followed by representatives from banks and insurance companies on Tuesday.