The better policy and tactic now is to concentrate on building up the case against her (for plunder or otherwise) – focus on gathering the primary documents:
•contracts,
•vouchers,
•checks,
•deposit slips,
•transaction slips,
•bank statements,
•photos,
•videos,
•and other documentary evidence cited by the witnesses and by the COA report;
and object evidence: equipment, infrastructure, vehicles, real and personal properties, until the evidence is more than enough for a primafacie case – instead of relying on wild talk of her possible offer of testimony.
You will need to secure documents and witnesses from the banks and the clearing houses. Fast. Now. Important.
Don’t get distracted.
— To be charged with a public official or public officials if for plunder (without prejudice to forfeiture proceedings). And, oh, important: don’t forget to add “John Does” when you craft the complaint; or as what other lawyers do in other criminal cases, you can put: “John Doe, Juan P. Doe, Bong Doe, Bongbong Doe, Jinggoy Doe, Greg Doe, and other John and Jeanne Does”… more important, make sure your Information (formal charge), and not just the complaint, contains John Does.
Make sure the Information complies with all the elements and all the terms of the criminal statute – plunder requires a series of predicate acts that are also criminal in nature, spell out what those overt acts are — open the statute books when you’re crafting the Info (do not copy and paste), make a back-and forth- and refer every line to it — even if you think it’s perfect, show it to other criminal trial experts and CPA-lawyers; the Information (formal charge) will make your case rise or fall in the preliminary motions and throughout the presentation of evidence…
News peg: “Police fired fallen passengers’ guns in Atimonan shootout — NBI report xxx Policemen involved in the January 6 bloodbath that left 13 people dead at a checkpoint in Atimonan, Quezon were seen firing the fallen men’s guns – ‘one by one into the air and other directions.’ “
Without prejudice to the filing of complaints/ charges upon a finding of prima facie case for any acts of premeditated killings or killings with treachery, or superior strength, or with armed men, or by weakening the defense of persons to afford impunity (murders, for each count) or homicide if not attended by any of the circumstances constituting murder, the following provisions are also pertinent for the acts of contaminating the crime scene, e.g., one count for each alteration of the evidence, i.e., one count for each firing of the weapons that are evidence or part of the crime scene (each count punishable with six years prison)
PD 1829, Obstruction. “Section 1. The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period, or a fine ranging from 1,000 to 6,000 pesos, or both, shall be imposed upon any person who knowingly or willfully obstructs, impedes, frustrates or delays the apprehension of suspects and the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases by committing any of the following acts:
xxx
“(b) altering, destroying, suppressing or concealing any … object, with intent to impair its verity, authenticity, legibility, availability, or admissibility as evidence in any investigation of or official proceedings in, criminal cases, or to be used in the investigation of, or official proceedings in, criminal cases;
xxx
“(f) making, presenting or using any … object with knowledge of its falsity and with intent to affect the course or outcome of the investigation of, or official proceedings in, criminal cases;
xxx
“(i) giving of false or fabricated information to mislead or prevent the law enforcement agencies from apprehending the offender or from protecting the life or property of the victim; or fabricating information from the data gathered in confidence by investigating authorities for purposes of background information and not for publication and publishing or disseminating the same to mislead the investigator or to the court.
“Section 2. If any of the foregoing acts is committed by a public official or employee, he shall in addition to the penalties provided thereunder, suffer perpetual disqualification from holding public office. xXxx”
