PRESIDING SENATOR-JUDGE ESCUDERO:
(0:00:00) Presentation and oral argument in relation to their motions. For the issuance of subpoena for banks, AMLC, and the BIR, Chair would like to recognize Senator-Judge Alan Cayetano for his manifestation earlier.
(0:00:15) Alan. The Senator-Judge intimated earlier that he had a manifestation before we proceeded.
SENATOR-JUDGE ALAN PETER CAYETANO:
(0:00:23) Yes, this is really to be fair to the prosecution and of course to the defense and to each one of us. So yesterday I asked whether or not mag oral arguments today. And then I’d like to thank the Senate President and of course the Presiding Officer and all our colleagues, Senator Sotto. Although magkatabi kami hindi kami magkatabi but I saw him agreeing that we should have a caucus and discuss this.
(0:00:48) Hinimay ko lang very preliminarily ha, if we’re going to look at issues, for example, relevancy lang, you have about the banks.
(0:00:55) You have AMLA, AMLC. You have BIR. Then for each one of them, so for example, for the banks and AMLC, you have peso accounts and dollar accounts. Then for each one of them, you have the accounts of Vice President Sara, but also of the spouse and then possibly of the companies, same sa BIR.
(0:01:22) So, although I do believe that we have exclusive jurisdiction, sometimes the Supreme Court have defined certain parameters that we either have crossed or not. So if we’re going to vote…one vote, whether or not to allow the subpoenas, it would be unfair to everyone.
(0:01:46) For example, me, I cannot vote unless I see na walang problema sa lahat. Then, no problem. Let’s vote, pwede. Pero kung sabihin kong walang problema sa banks at AMLA, may problema sa BIR. Walang problema sa BIR pero sa spouse meron. So we’re going to have a caucus and I’m sure we’re going to have a good discussion on that, but just two things. Number one, Can we give… Of course, we’ll follow the time today. But if any of the two, the prosecution or the…
(0:02:18) For example in the rebuttal, after the rebuttal ng defense, makikita na ng prosecution saan talaga nag-o-object yung defense, hindi lang sa lahat. If we can give them a little bit more time kasi nga mahabang discussion to. Having said that, I’m more than okay if we have to have an extra day next week, whether to discuss among ourselves… I’m not preempting our caucus. I’m just saying, Mr. President, that I commit to you, I will not delay, I will not overtalk on these issues but and I don’t think controversial each and every one of this, yung request for subpoena dito. But there may be one or two and I don’t think it would be good for us to lump it in one issue if there are different legal issues. The law, there are similarities in the law but there’s a different law governing AMLA, there’s a different law for the bank secrecy, there’s a different law for BIR. So, thank you.
PRESIDING SENATOR-JUDGE ESCUDERO:
(0:03:24) Chair notes the observation of Senator-Judge Alan Cayetano. However, subject of course to any agreements that will be arrived at in caucus, we are constrained by the motions filed by the parties. There are only two pending motions that this court should act upon.
(0:03:41) Number one, a motion for the issuance of a subpoena with respect to bank and AMLC records on the one hand, and number two, a motion for the issuance of subpoena for BIR records. Understandably, there are sub-issues underneath each, but we cannot put a vote each and every sub-issue under each motion.
(0:04:03) So we will most likely, the Chair would suggest, put it to a vote by the motions that have been filed by the parties, whether or not to grant it or to deny the motion filed by the prosecutors in this case.
(0:04:20) Again, subject of course to any agreements we might arrive at in caucus, Senator-Judge Alan, and the Chair will submit to that.
