Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV joins Karmina Constantino on ANC's Dateline Philippines, April 24, 2026. Daniel Dean Jacob, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV said Thursday he backed out from appearing as a witness in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte to relieve the “pressure” on the prosecution panel.
“Earlier in the day, I requested the House prosecution under Chair Jinky Luistro to formally withdraw my name as a witness for the prosecution. This way, the prosecution panel would be relieved from the pressure it is going through,” Trillanes said in a statement.
He did not elaborate on the supposed “pressure” faced by prosecutors.
Trillanes said he would hold a press conference on Friday to present what he would have divulged in the trial.
The prosecution earlier in the day did not offer a reason when it told the impeachment court that Trillanes would no longer take the witness stand.
Prosecution drops Trillanes as impeachment witness
While Trillanes could have been "valuable" in providing context for records that the Anti–Money Laundering Council (AMLC) would present, 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.
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