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The impeachment of VP Sara Duterte is one of the most significant political developments in the country today. Join us on Beyond the Headlines as we discuss the constitutional process, the key issues surrounding the case, and its possible implications for Philippine governance and the political landscape.
Tune in for a factual and balanced discussion, and share your questions and insights in the comments.
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Tune in for a factual and balanced discussion, and share your questions and insights in the comments.
đź“… LIVE TODAY
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NewsTranscript
01:02Then comes the milk, steamed smooth, creamy, and balanced.
01:07The perfect latte is not brushed.
01:10It is crafted one cup at a time.
01:14Your perfect latte is ready.
01:16Coffee first, then everything else.
01:21Good afternoon. Welcome to Beyond the Headlines.
01:23I'm DJ Moises, and today's conversation is brought to us by Coffee First.
01:28The Senate impeachment court officially opened the historic trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday,
01:36setting off a high-stakes legal battle.
01:40Here are the top three developments from day one.
01:43First, Senator Cheez Escudero leads the court.
01:49The Senate voted 12-8 to elect Senator Francis Cheez Escudero as the presiding officer,
01:55triggering a strong constitutional objection from the Cayetano siblings.
02:00Second, Vice President Sara Duterte skipped day one.
02:05The Vice President did not attend the opening,
02:08with her defense team dismissing the case as a political plot to derail her 2028 presidential candidacy.
02:17Third, 16 votes needed to convict.
02:21So at least this part of the conversation has already been set aside, no?
02:25Because as we remember, there were a lot of debates as to what's the interpretation of the two-thirds.
02:31Should it be the 24 member, or should it already exclude the three senators
02:38who are no longer able to attend the proceedings?
02:41But at least from yesterday's conversation, it was already decided that 16 votes are needed to convict, no?
02:49So presiding officer Escudero formalized a strict 92-day trial calendar
02:56and clarified that two-thirds majority, or 16 votes out of the 24 senator judges,
03:03is required to convict the vice president.
03:06So the trial will resume today at 2 o'clock,
03:11this time with the prosecution presenting the first set of witnesses.
03:16So if we are to look back on yesterday's historic opening session,
03:20one thing is already very clear.
03:23First, the trial is as much as a battle over rules of our democracy
03:28as it is about the specific charges themselves.
03:31And second, at least in my opinion, I think both the prosecution and the defense panel
03:37have been good in terms of presenting their arguments.
03:41So let's break down what transpired yesterday.
03:45So if we recall, this is the first time in Philippine history
03:50that a sitting vice president is standing on trial, no?
03:56So this is already the second attempt for the vice president to be impeached.
04:00The first one last year did not push through because it did not succeed, no?
04:05Because of constitutional legal questions.
04:09But this time, the second attempt, it's already on its way, no?
04:14So the House, through its Justice Committee,
04:18was able to deliberate on what was then said as a quote-unquote mini trial.
04:24And now, the prosecution team has expressed gratitude
04:29that finally they are seeing the vice president's trial ongoing in the Senate
04:34because it was like a year-long battle for them.
04:38So as expected, at least from my end, the vice president skipped the proceedings.
04:43And as expected also, there were criticisms coming from different parties
04:48as to why she's not attending, and there were also speculation whether she will attend.
04:55And her response to this, in a statement, in a nutshell, just said that
04:59we will just have to respect, no, how the proceeding and the strategy
05:04of her defense team will unfold, whether that will take that she should be present
05:10or she should not be present.
05:12So that slumped, no, several speculations whether she should or she should not.
05:17She just said it depends on the strategic approach of her defense team, no?
05:22And I said earlier in the opening that both parties actually presented
05:27good opening statements, at least in my opinion.
05:30On the defense side, they're very strong in terms of highlighting the procedure, no?
05:36That the burden of proof, in a nutshell, should be on the one accusing
05:42rather than on the one being accused.
05:45So this is their way of defining that for the articles of impeachment,
05:51for these to actually result into a conviction,
05:55the burden of proof is on the prosecution, no?
05:59So they were clear on that.
06:01The prosecution, in my opinion, appealed slightly on emotion.
06:06Which, as we know, also works, although it's considered as a fallacy,
06:12but that's still considered to be good, in my opinion,
06:16because they were able to elevate the conversation into the broader picture
06:21why this question of accountability should be a matter of importance to Filipinos.
06:27So both parties, in my opinion, presented good opening statements.
06:32The other controversy that also happened yesterday was on the election of a presiding officer,
06:41because when Gatchalian, Senate President Gatchalian, was elected as Senate President,
06:51people were already speculating whether a non-lawyer would be able to successfully preside
06:58an impeachment trial.
07:00And back then, it was not very clear that Senate President Gatchalian would not take on the role,
07:07because there were also parties that justified that it doesn't matter
07:11whether the presiding officer is a lawyer or a non-lawyer.
07:16But yesterday, the Senate voted 12-8 to elect Senator Francis G. Escudero
07:25as the presiding officer on the impeachment court.
07:29And I'm sure a lot of us have also seen commentaries online,
07:33because it looked awkward for them to see the two of them seated next to each other.
07:42But the explanation, because some people were poking fun lines,
07:50describing what's the presence of the Senate President just beside,
07:54the presiding officer was presiding the session,
08:00and he looked like he was the one taking notes.
08:02So that's the humor that people tend to insert with that observation.
08:08But I don't know if the setting will eventually change today,
08:12but supporters of such a setup are actually asserting that the presence of both in front
08:19is also a reminder that it's still the Senate President who's supervising
08:25the unfolding of the overall proceedings in the Senate,
08:31while the presiding officer is tasked in terms of how the impeachment trial is going to unfold.
08:38But let's see, because there's going to be 91 more days.
08:41Let's see if the setup will still continue, that both of them will be the ones seated in front.
08:47The other milestone, in my opinion, as I've mentioned in the opening,
08:51is also the clarity that they actually need 16 votes.
08:56So that's why there were also questions or suggestions or arguments
09:01that are elevated by Senator Cayetano, Alan Peter Cayetano,
09:06asking also whether Senators Jingoy Estrada and Marcoleta would be allowed to at least be able to witness the proceedings
09:16so that they would also be aware when the voting would come,
09:21because we do not know.
09:23Maybe they would be already allowed to vote by then,
09:25because this is like 91 more days,
09:28and this trial could extend until the end of the year
09:31or until the first part of 2027.
09:35So a lot of things could change.
09:37So that's why there was an argument whether the two of them
09:40could at least be able to witness the trial,
09:43but that's still left pending.
09:45The other thing, but at least the 16 votes already resolved.
09:48The other controversy also yesterday was the evidence box coming from BIR.
09:56If we recall, during the mini trial at the House,
10:01the box was actually present, but they did not open it.
10:06Now, in yesterday's session, the impeachment court ordered for the BIR box
10:13containing the tax records of the vice president and her husband
10:17to actually be returned to BIR.
10:21So what does this mean?
10:23I'll do my best to explain what does this mean.
10:27It actually just means that opening the box
10:30or the presence of the box in Senate halls,
10:32it's not yet time for it to be there.
10:36So this is more of a question of timing.
10:39So for those of us who are interested,
10:42will the box eventually be opened?
10:45The question to that can still be yes, no?
10:48Because if we make a simple analogy of what just happened,
10:53it's just that the box, because it's not yet time for it to be in the Senate,
10:57it's just being returned to BIR.
11:01But eventually, there will still come a time
11:03that prosecution would demand for it not to be opened.
11:07So the question then now,
11:09I think the better question to be asked is the manner of it being opened,
11:13because the prosecution would prefer that it be opened in public,
11:19while the defense also is moving that the opening of the box
11:24should be on an executive session instead of to be opened publicly.
11:30And we are yet to see the outcome or the decision specific to this.
11:38In terms of the order of presentation,
11:41because as we know, there are actually four articles of impeachment.
11:46The first was the misuse of the $612.5 million in confidential funds,
11:52both in the office of the vice president
11:56and also at the Department of Education between 2022 to 2023.
12:01That's Article 1.
12:03This Article 2 is on unexplained wealth,
12:06and this is the interest.
12:08Personally, I'm also interested to see
12:10how the SAL-IN cross-examination would go
12:14after it was preliminarily presented in the Justice Committee in the House.
12:19And then procurement irregularities, that's Article 3.
12:23And then finally, Article 4, which was allegations of public threats
12:28against President Marcus Jr. and other officials.
12:32And yesterday, it was already resolved also on how these will be presented.
12:39So they will start first with allegations of public threats,
12:45and then they will move to misuse of confidential funds,
12:51and then they will move towards bribery and procurement violations,
12:56and then they will end with Article 2,
12:59which is charges regarding failure to truthfully disclose assets of SAL-IN.
13:04In my opinion, this is also a strategic decision,
13:08and I'm particularly curious about the SAL-IN.
13:12So however that will unfold,
13:14that would be what the public will see last.
13:18So it depends on, it's crucial on public sentiment also,
13:22whether the vice president should be impeached or not.
13:29So as mentioned in the opening also,
13:31there will be 92 trial days.
13:34Prosecution were allocated 62 days,
13:37and the prosecution have 57 witnesses.
13:41While on the defense, they were also allocated 30 trial days,
13:46and then they have a total of 96 witnesses.
13:51And because the Senate is just allocating three days per week,
13:56so that's why this could be four months or three months or five months
14:01that could stretch until the end of the year
14:04or even the beginning of next year.
14:07And finally, before I'll close,
14:10I'll just comment also on the speculation surrounding the change
14:15in terms of the election of Cheese Escudero as a presiding officer.
14:26So on one side,
14:28people remembered that it was the vice president
14:32who actually endorsed his presidency at the Senate in 2022.
14:36People also remembered that it was also during his term as Senate president
14:41when the first impeachment trial did not pull through.
14:47But the other side also,
14:49they had apprehensions about the setup
14:51because of the history that transpired just recently.
14:55Because there were cases that were supposed to be filed,
15:00but they were not yet filed as we speak.
15:04And people thought that he faced tremendous pressure.
15:08That's why he eventually moved to what is now the new majority.
15:12So there are speculations about his being an objective presiding officer,
15:17but it's already done deal,
15:19because he's already been chosen to preside.
15:22So now I move into what then we can do as the public.
15:28So we are witnessing a political showdown.
15:32And this is not only a political showdown,
15:35but this is also a very good test of our democratic institution.
15:40So whichever side we are in,
15:42whether we are favoring the impeachment or we are not,
15:45but we are already in this situation.
15:47So the better treatment, the better attitude, in my opinion,
15:53is to use this as a test case
15:55so that we would also be better as citizens of a democratic country
16:00such as the Philippines.
16:02And for a trial with a magnitude as this,
16:06in Sunstar and beyond the headlines,
16:08we're also doing our best to give you better understanding
16:13and for us to look deeper because we need to be engaged
16:16as we move towards the impeachment process.
16:20Because there's still 91 days ahead of us,
16:23but if all of us will continue to remain vigilant,
16:27if we make time to read the transcript,
16:29if we also stay discerning,
16:32then being part of this process will also make us better Filipinos.
16:37So an impeachment trial of this magnitude
16:40can easily be clouded by intense political noise,
16:44emotional loyalties, and endless speculation.
16:48That's why our role for the next 91 days
16:51is to stay critical, to be deeply engaged,
16:55and follow the developments closely.
16:58Accountability is the bedrock of our democracy,
17:01and it requires an informed and vigilant public.
17:06So I'm DJ Moises.
17:08This is Beyond the Headlines.
17:10Let's continue to look deeper and think better.
17:14Have a good afternoon.
17:20It starts with a fresh shot of espresso.
17:24Bold, rich, pulled just right.
17:30Then comes the milk, steamed, smooth, creamy, and balanced.
17:35The perfect latte is not brushed.
17:38It is crafted.
17:40One cup at a time.
17:42Your perfect latte is ready.
17:44Coffee first, then everything else.
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