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Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV arrives at the Department of Justice building in Manila on March 5, 2026. Trillanes filed criminal complaints against 18 “ex-Marines,” Atty. Levito Baligod, ex-Congressman Mike Defensor, Lorraine Badoy, and Cathy Binag over claims that he supposedly received $2 million intended for investigators of the International Criminal Court who are investigating the case filed against President Duterte. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — The Senate impeachment court on Tuesday warned House prosecutors against presenting former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, advising them to first present the Anti-Money Laundering Council officer and bank officials or records that he would testify on.
The court said it would not issue a subpoena for Trillanes “at this time,” but, presiding officer Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero said, "cannot prevent the prosecution from calling him as a witness voluntarily."
Escudero, a lawyer, reminded prosecutors that the “cart cannot be put ahead of the horse,” saying it would be more appropriate to first present the Anti-Money Laundering Council officer and bank officials or the bank records first.
House prosecutor Rep. Terry Ridon of Bicol Saro Party-List confirmed that Trillanes is the prosecution’s additional witness.
The prosecution earlier 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).
The prosecution told the court that it wants to present bank records as soon as possible but acknowledged that, following the court’s ruling on the admissibility of the records, it could request a subpoena for the banks only by Friday.
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AMLC WITNESS AS 'BASIS'
Escudero said the AMLC witness could first serve as a “predicate or basis” for the presentation of Trillanes’ testimony.
Ridon said the prosecution would take the court’s advice under consideration.
The court also noted that prosecutors had asked it to take judicial notice of the transcripts of previous House committee hearings where Trillanes made statements concerning funds and amounts allegedly attributed to Duterte.
Escudero said the court had taken note of Trillanes’ statements in those hearings.
The prosecution has previously identified Trillanes as one of its key witnesses for Article II.
Earlier this month, prosecutors said they had more than 1,800 financial documents and up to 25 potential witnesses for their unexplained wealth presentation.
PROSECUTION'S CALL
Defense lawyer Sheila Sison, meanwhile, said the prosecution should be allowed to determine its own witness presentation strategy if it decides to call the former senator voluntarily.
“If we had withdrawn our objection and they want to present the former Senator Trillanes tomorrow, then I think they should just do that,” Sison told the court.
The defense, however, noted that the prosecution had changed the sequence of its witnesses for the second time this week.
The court said that if the prosecution changes the order of presentation and calls Trillanes earlier, the defense would be given sufficient time to prepare for cross-examination.
Two Register of Deeds officials from Davao City and Samal City are scheduled to testify, and the court said they were already served subpoenas.
The impeachment court is expected to hear the prosecution’s decision on whether and when to present Trillanes in the next day’s proceedings.
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