MANILA, Philippines — The Senate impeachment court completed the first week of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, with proceedings focused on Article IV, which accuses her of making grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Over the first three trial days, senator-judges settled procedural issues, heard opening statements from both sides, and began receiving evidence from the prosecution through its first witness, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Senior Agent John Mark Calilung.
The week also saw legal challenges outside the courtroom, including a petition before the Supreme Court seeking to halt the proceedings.
Day 1 (July 6)
- The Senate formally convened as an impeachment court for Duterte’s trial.
- Senators elected Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero as presiding officer in a 12-8 vote despite objections from some lawmakers.
- Escudero ruled that 16 votes would be required to convict an impeachable official and ordered trial records to be made publicly accessible online.
- The prosecution and defense delivered their opening statements.
- Duterte did not personally attend the opening session and was represented by her legal team.
Day 2 (July 7)
- The prosecution formally began presenting its case under Article IV on the alleged grave threats.
- NBI Senior Agent John Mark Calilung took the witness stand as the prosecution’s first witness and authenticated videos and evidence related to Duterte’s November 2024 remarks.
- Prosecutors disclosed plans to call Duterte as a hostile witness in the succeeding hearings.
- Duterte arrived at the Senate but remained outside the courtroom, meeting only with her lawyers before leaving.
Day 3 (July 8)
- The defense cross-examined Calilung, questioning the NBI investigation, his qualifications, and the prosecution’s evidence.
- Calilung said he had no personal knowledge of any alleged hitman and clarified he investigated only Duterte’s public statements.
- The defense argued that Duterte’s remarks did not constitute an impeachable “high crime” and cited the alleged “Operation Romanov” as context for her statements.
- The prosecution maintained that Calilung’s testimony remained consistent and waived redirect examination, saying the defense failed to weaken his testimony.
- The impeachment court granted the prosecution’s request to subpoena Office of the Vice President chief of staff Zuleika Lopez to testify when hearings resume.
- Prosecutors also sought subpoenas for Duterte’s bank and tax records as part of their evidence.
Other developments
- Lawyers allied with Duterte filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking to stop the impeachment trial and questioning Escudero’s authority as presiding officer. The trial, however, continued after no restraining order was issued.
- Malacañang defended Escudero’s election as presiding officer and said the impeachment case should be resolved based on evidence presented before the court.
- Hearings will resume on July 13, with the prosecution expected to continue presenting witnesses and documentary evidence under Article IV.
Editor’s note: This update was generated with the aid of artificial intelligence based on Inquirer.net and Philippine Daily Inquirer articles and reviewed by a human editor.