Leyte First District Rep. Martin Romualdez has proposed a host of measures to strengthen school safety and child protection as part of a comprehensive response to the June 22 mass shooting at San Jose National High School that left three students dead and 20 others injured.
MANILA, Philippines — Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez argues that the Ombudsman should consider the recent witness recantations against him, noting that Supreme Court rules against retractions apply only during trial.
According to Romualdez’s supplemental counter affidavit, the high court’s disfavor toward recantations is limited to those made while a trial is underway.
Romualdez cited the case of Balderama vs. People which stated that SC “looks with disfavor upon retractions of testimonies previously given in court” and that “an affidavit of desistance made by a witness after conviction of the accused is not reliable, and deserves only scant attention.”
READ: Guteza recants: Marcoleta, Defensor tapped me to accuse Martin Romualdez
