The week continued with the inquiries and debates between both sides.
Last Monday, July 20, the Impeachment Trial of Vice President Sara Duterte resumed for its seventh day.
Off the bat, a manifestation from Senator-Judge Robin Padilla over reports by media outlets regarding his supposed failure of filing a counter-affidavit before the Office of the Ombudsman in relation to an Obstruction of Justice complaint that stemmed from the disappearance of Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who fled the Senate on May 14 after being holed up within the premises amid the issuance of a Warrant of Arrest from the International Criminal Court.
However, that was soon called out by Senator-Judge Erwin Tulfo, who reminded colleagues to make use of the Impeachment Court’s time strictly for matters in relation to the case-at-hand.
Senator-Judge Alan Cayetano, however, defended that and told that the manifestation by Padilla is still related to the proceedings, as it is, for him, also affects the integrity of the Court.
After nearly half an hour, the proceedings finally began after Presiding Officer Senator Francis Escudero ruled that while Padilla’s manifestation will not be stricken off the record of the Court, it would be referred to the Senate as a legislative body, which resumes session on Monday, July 27.
Meanwhile, on the same day, the debate on whether to subpoena documents of the Vice President continued, with the Prosecution Panel being led by Rep. Chel Diokno, while Atty. Michael Poa stood for the Defense Counsel.
Later that day, the court ruled in favor of issuing a subpoena to bank records, tax returns, and documents from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) linked to VP Duterte and her husband, Atty. Manasas Carpiom
On the eighth day, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Atty. Melvin Matibag appeared before the court as third witness under Article IV of the Impeachment case, the alleged grave threats made by VP Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez in November 2024.
From the start, the Presiding Officer reminded Matibag to not make any public statements regarding members of the Impeachment Court and noted that the statements made by Senator-Judges Alan and Pia Cayetano on July 15, which were in regards to the reinvestigation into the alleged anomalies in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games by the NBI, will be referred to the Senate as a legislative body.
Matibag first underwent a direct examination by the Prosecution, before the cross-examination by the Defense later that same day.
There, pieces of evidence were once again identified. In addition, a video of the RAGE Coalition launched by the VP’s brother, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, was also played during the proceedings.
The sworn statement made by Arturo Lascañas was also tackled, as well as the infamous incident where VP Sara, then Mayor of Davao, punched a sheriff.
Meanwhile, in the cross-examination, the Defense also brought up Matibag’s previous job as a political strategist and even his past opinion pieces that directly called out the Vice President.
The camp, however, requested for a continuance and deferred further questions to the the following day to examine documents.
On the ninth day, another key highlight, apart from the resumption of the questioning by the Defense counsel, was the subpoena orders issued by the Impeachment Court to the relevant agencies and finanical institutions.
During that day, it was also confirmed that a new schedule would be followed as the Senate is officially resuming its work as a legislative body on Monday.
According to Escudero, the Trial will be shifted to mornings to mid-afternoons and will run from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, effective Wednesday, July 29.
In the forthcoming week, the trial gives way to the fifth State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and the start of the new session of both houses of Congress on Monday, July 27.
On Tuesday, July 28, meanwhile, the Minority will deliver their “counter-SONA” to respond to the speech to be delivered by Marcos.
