00:31Good afternoon and welcome to Beyond the Headlines. I'm DJ Moises.
00:36The House of Representatives Committee on Justice has set a final clarificatory hearing on April 29, that's tomorrow, regarding the
00:44impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
00:47Committee Chair Gerbil Luistro indicated that there is a strong likelihood the panel will vote on the determination of probable
00:54cause after the hearing.
00:56If probable cause is established, the case will advance to the House plenary, which will decide whether to transmit the
01:03articles of impeachment to the Senate.
01:06Impeachment is where law, politics, and public trust intersect. The real question is, which one ultimately prevails?
01:13Joining us today is Attorney Rowena Guanzon, lawyer and former commissioner of the Commission on Elections, and a seasoned public
01:21servant known for her firm positions on issues of law and governance.
01:26Hello, former commissioner Guanzon. Welcome to Beyond the Headlines.
01:32Yes. So, my first question here, former commissioner, is you've always argued against the impeachment.
01:39You can call me attorney.
01:41Yes, okay. Sige, attorney. You've always argued against the impeachment. Is it because of the process which you find is
01:50flawed, or is it also because of the evidence?
01:52In the first impeachment complaint, as I said, it's not a process. It's just a focus-focus. It's just a
02:00focus-focus. It's because he wanted to run for president in 2028.
02:06It's the same thing here in the second impeachment case. Because there's no really no new evidence except that they
02:14want to produce the salen of VP Sara so that they can play it up sa public na puno.
02:23Dumami yung pera niya.
02:25Dumami yung pera niya. They want to give the impression that naninakaw niya yung kikawat niya yung mga kuarta, which
02:34some members of the House Justice Committee objected.
02:40Congressman Rufus Rodriguez objected to the subpoena. Even the vice chair, Congressman Jennifer Labay, also objected.
02:51And another, Garbin also objected. And the same objections, which I agree,
02:57hindi, hindi pwede nga, ang wala, ang wala gi-submit niya sa complainants, ang House Justice Committee mo'y magproduce.
03:07In other words, you cannot add to the complaint. That would be violating the right-to-due process of the
03:15vice president.
03:16Ah, they're trying to make it appear na they are fair.
03:23Eh, abuse ba? Hindi naman talaga sila fair.
03:26Hindi tama naman si Loistro, eh. Fair ba yun?
03:29Anyway, pagpunta yan sa plenary, pero hindi sila sure dun, ah.
03:33Kasi, taghan na kayo yung mga congressman karoon, ah. Di na sila ganaan mo, perma.
03:38And ang grupo ni congressman po, no, NUP, there are 40 of them.
03:43Di na sila ganaan mo, perma.
03:44Ang grupo ni former president Gloria Macapagalaroyo, di na po na sila, perma.
03:50Ang mga opposition, ng mga Duterte congressmen, congresswemen, di na po na sila mo, perma.
03:56So, hindi sila ka sure na magdaog sila sa plenary.
04:03Pero in the event magdaog sila, masaka ang aso sa Senate, well, they cannot win.
04:11Because they need 16 votes, two-thirds of the votes of the Senate to convict.
04:18Based on at least the clarificatory hearings that we all saw ba,
04:24there was a debate before it started na it was a mini-trial, not a clarificatory hearing.
04:30From your observation on what transpired, did you find it as a clarificatory hearing?
04:36Or was it already a mini-trial?
04:40Loistro called it a mini-trial, which is a violation of the constitution.
04:45Because under the constitution, only the Senate has the sole power to try the case.
04:52Kasi, sabi nila, clarificatory daw sa mga witnesses nila.
04:56Kasi ginagawa nilang ano, it's a show.
04:59Kaya ng madriaga na yun.
05:01Ayak-ayak pa.
05:03Loistro had to ask him, are you crying?
05:05Please make it of record that he's crying.
05:09Ano yan?
05:10Hindi ba yan trial?
05:11Yung making it of record?
05:13Ano ba yan?
05:14Secutor ba si Luistro dyan?
05:18Ang style nila, bulok.
05:20So, let them go to the Senate.
05:24Who's afraid of this impeachment?
05:27Vice President Sarai does not seem to be afraid of this impeachment.
05:32There were some people, also, Attorney Guenzon, and I would like to also seek your thoughts about this, that during
05:39last week's clarificatory hearing, when there was said to be a discrepancy between the Vice President Salen and also the
05:47AMLAC findings and her bank transactions, how did you look at it?
05:53It's now a subject matter of a case because Attorney Man Scarpio has already filed a case against the AMLAC
06:01and the Secretariat.
06:07The AMLAC, under the law, cannot disclose the bank records that it gets us from the banks.
06:21Ang sinasabi nila, di ba sabi nga doon ng representative eh, we brought the box but we cannot open the
06:29box.
06:31How about katong the exception that they cited specifically for the impeachment?
06:37What are your thoughts about that?
06:40Eh, impeachment nila eh.
06:42Ang AMLAC kasi, exception, is if it's connected to a crime, eh wala namang impeachment dyan eh.
06:55Iba naman yan eh.
06:56So, kahit na sabihin natin na, okay, that's an exception, they can send that in cases of impeachment, you cannot
07:05skip the requirements of the law.
07:08That's why the AMLAC representative said, we brought the box of documents, bank records, but we cannot open this box.
07:17So I think that's already, para sa akin, it's not really an issue anymore.
07:24Kasi obvious na sabi itong mga tao na, gusto lang talaga nila siraan si BP Sara.
07:30And along that line, Attorney Guanzon, there are also people who think that she is being singled out, no?
07:37Among the big, so-called big fishes.
07:40What can you say also about this?
07:42I told you already that this impeachment is a hocus-pocus thing.
07:47Eh, alam nyo naman si Luistro.
07:50She's under the baton of Sandro Marcos.
07:56And you've mentioned earlier about…
07:59And of course, Sandro Marcos is afraid that if Sara Duterte wins in 2028, hindi na siya makatakbo ng president
08:05sa next presidential election.
08:09And you've mentioned earlier that there is a strong possibility that even if the Justice Committee will bring this up
08:19already for plenary voting in the House of Representatives,
08:22it may not necessarily be able to gather one-third that is required.
08:27But on the flip side, because yesterday we also interviewed Attorney Ligutan,
08:32he actually said that after the discrepancy between the SAL-IN and also the bank transactions were presented last week,
08:41he said that the tide seems to be turning against the vice president.
08:46Well, it doesn't really matter, you know, to BP Sara.
08:49Of course, they will still need 16 votes in the Senate, which they don't have.
08:53They only have 15 senators and J.B. Ayers, who told me personally, he's not going to sign that impeachment.
09:02You know, these senators will sign the impeachment and they are running for re-election.
09:07They might lose their re-election.
09:11And now I'm just down to my last three questions, attorney, no?
09:15So you've observed many public officials over the years.
09:19What do you think sets the vice president different compared to the others?
09:28Compared to the other vice presidents?
09:30Or the other presidential votes that you've seen in the past?
09:36That's why I said that I am endorsing Sara Duterte.
09:41I intend to run for senator in 2020.
09:46And I will support president for president Sara Duterte because
09:53kung si Sara Duterte ang presidente, mananagot sila.
10:00I'm really, I feel very strongly about corruption under the BBM administration and accountability.
10:11Kaya naman ng Pilipinas, ganito, puro nakao, nananakao.
10:16Mga opisyal, kasi wala naman.
10:18Nobody really goes to jail.
10:21Now that the Ombudsman is charging Martin Romaldes with plunder,
10:29let's see if they're really going to send Martin to jail.
10:34And this is already my last question, attorney, and thank you for making time.
10:37But if we are to fast forward, let's say, a decade or two decades from now
10:42and people will remember 2026, no?
10:45What will this say, manan?
10:47What will history say about 2026 and this particular impeachment?
10:53That in 2026, this is the worst, most corrupt government we've ever had.
11:02And this impeachment, just as most impeachments are,
11:11it's politically motivated, but this is the first impeachment
11:15where the design is to stop VP Sara from running and winning.
11:23So thank you very much, attorney Gwenzon, for gracing today's Beyond the Headlines
11:28and for making time.
11:30Dagang salamat!
11:31Dagang salamat!
11:33As the impeachment involving Vice President Sara Duterte continues to unfold,
11:38the responsibility rests not only on institutions, but on all of us
11:43to stay informed, to think critically, and to demand both fairness and accountability.
11:50Thank you for being with us today.
11:51I'm DJ Moises.
11:52This has been Beyond the Headlines.
11:54Have a good afternoon.
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