“Is the defense going to ask later on for the showing of the whole video? Because if they are, why don’t we just watch the whole of it to assess context?” ~Senator Judge Alan Peter Cayetano
A fierce clash erupted in court as prosecutors accused Vice President Sara Duterte of alleged assassination threats. Head prosecutor Representative Lorenz Defensor stated that Duterte publicly contracted someone to kill Martin Romualdez, the President, and the First Lady.
Defense lawyer Carlo Narvasa immediately objected to the statement, calling the prosecution narrative an improper presentation for trial procedure. Presiding Judge Chiz Escudero ruled that opening statements are not evidence but denied the defense motion to strike them.
Bloody But Unbowed
Prosecutor Attorney Lorna Kapunan noted Duterte claimed she expected a “bloodbath” while remaining “bloody but unbowed”. “We are informed, and in fact we have seen, an interview conducted on the Senate premises of the Vice President herself, and she had been quoted as saying that she is expecting a bloodbath and a bludgeoning, but her head may be bloody but unbowed.”
However, even the Vice President is within the vicinity of the Senate, the court confirmed that the Vice President is not mandated to attend the impeachment trial personally.
Addressing the court, Prosecution counsel Attorney Amando Virgil Ligutan called NBI Senior Agent John Mark Calilung to testify. Defense attorneys moved to exclude the witness, citing earlier complaints and constitutional rights violations.
Harry Roque’s Livestream
Presiding Officer Escudero denied the exclusion by citing a case precedent on pre-trial evidence listings. During direct examination, Agent Calilung explained how he sent a digital preservation request directly to Meta.
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Narvasa objected to the printout, arguing that a “certified true copy” marking was improper. Nevertheless, Escudero overruled the objection and allowed the prosecution to proceed with witness examination.
Furthermore, a major firefight erupted over a Facebook livestream video posted on Harry Roque’s page. Prosecutors offered a two-minute snippet from the full two-hour and twenty-six-minute online media briefing.
Narvasa demanded the court play the entire recording to show the full context of events. Senator Judge Alan Peter Cayetano similarly suggested watching the complete broadcast to assess context properly.
Kill Martin Romualdez…
Ultimately, Escudero permitted prosecutors to present their selected two-minute clip during direct examination. Consequently, Narvasa registered a continuing objection and announced plans to present the full recording during cross-examination.
Agent Calilung confirmed that NBI investigated statements where Duterte mentioned contracting someone to kill “Martin Romualdez, Bongbong Marcos, Liza Marcos”. Subsequently, Escudero declared a brief court recess before the trial resumed further proceedings.
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