Evidence for threat, sedition not 'foundation for probable cause,' says Sara's lawyer

MANILA, Philippines — The counsel of Vice President Sara Duterte in the complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Thursday said that the evidence presented at the House of Representtaives' impeachment hearing on Wednesday was not a foundation for probable cause. The statement comes after NBI Director Melvin Matibag said that Duterte's threats to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former speaker Martin Romualdez has already been established and that there was a "reasonable certainty of conviction" for cases of grave threat and inciting to sedition. In a statement sent to The Manila Times, Duterte's counsel, Paul Lawrence Lim, said the presentation in yesterday's hearing "reveals the paucity of the charges against her." "Evidence is curated, even spliced. Context is ignored. Opinion is substituted for facts. Guesswork is presented as investigation results. These cannot be the foundation for probable cause, much less a prima facie case with reasonable certainty of conviction. Simply repeating a conclusion, no matter how vehemently, does not make it true," Lim added. He added that the attempt to create a causal link between the vice president and alleged comments against the president "demands a gigantic leap in logic and abandonment of basic evidentiary principles,". "The non-existent connection to the vice president is posed as a mystery still under investigation with no immediate answer, but strategically implies guilt. This excites judgment without evidence,". Lim said. Lim said that Wednesday's proceeding confirmed that it has been a "fishing expedition aimed at giving a semblance of substance to the defective impeachment complaints," echoing the vice pressident. He added that the issue of the alleged commission of crimes "will be addressed at the proper fora, where evidence is expected to support judgment, and the rule of law is expected to be respected,"

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