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Sen. Jinggoy Estrada believes two things: (1) that the evidence against him is weak and (2) that his lawyers have succeeded in impugning Ruby Tuason’s credibility as a prosecution witness.
On Monday, Tuason admitted she did not pay taxes in 2014 because “I understand the [income] from the money market investments was subject to final tax.”
We’re quoting Tuason’s verbatim, BTW. That was her reply to Estrada’s lawyer Sabino Acut Jr., when he quizzed the socialite about her filing of taxes and her application for an East West bank loan.
“State prosecutor Hazel Valdez-Decena registered her opposition to Acut’s handling of Tuason’s cross-examination, aruguing that the issues pertaining to Tuason’s loan were immaterial and irrelevant to the plunder and graft charges against Estrada,” reports the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Associate Justice Alexander Gesmundo sustained Valdez’s objection, pointing out that only matters directly related to Estrada should be the subject of court proceedings.
“But we’re trying to impeach the credibility of this witness,” Acut reasoned out.
Which Estrada thinks they’ve succeeded in doing. Yes, getting a woman to admit in court that she didn’t pay taxes would really prove that she’s lying, no?
Anyway, according to the Inquirer report, this is Tuason’s sixth and final time to appear at Estrada’s trial. Both prosecution and defense claim they were able to obtain information from her to support both their positions.
Whatever. We thought Tuason looked and sounded like a real feline. Rawr.
Photo: Philippine Star/Twitter
