Sandigan OKs online testimony of witness vs ex-FDA chief

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan has allowed a private doctor to testify via videoconferencing against former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) director general Nela Charade Puno, who was charged with graft over the alleged unlawful raid and closure of a pharmacy and wellness clinic in Tarlac.

In a seven-page resolution promulgated on Jan. 3, the anti-graft court’s third division granted the motion of the Office of the Ombudsman’s prosecution panel to present Dr. Farrah Arsenia Agustin-Bunch in a videoconferencing hearing on Jan. 17.

“The prosecution is directed to coordinate with the Philippine consulate general in Houston, Texas to ensure the presence of Dr. Agustin-Bunch on the said date,” the resolution read.

The third division said the prosecution was able to prove that Agustin-Bunch qualifies for remote testimony under the Supreme Court’s Administrative Matter No. 20-12-01 or the Guidelines on the Conduct of Videoconferencing. The doctor is a Filipino residing abroad.

The prosecution had earlier said Agustin-Bunch’s testimony would be relevant in the case as she supposedly suffered “undue injury” from the “precipitate action” of Puno.

The case stemmed from the FDA’s raid and closure of the Dr. Farrah Agustin-Bunch Natural Medical Center in Victoria, Tarlac in 2018 over the alleged sale of unregistered food supplements, which claim to treat cancer, arthritis and other diseases.

Agustin-Bunch had said the raid and closure of her establishment did not undergo due process. She said she and her American husband were not around when the FDA operation was conducted.