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IMPEACHMENT: Week 2 Breakdown | Beyond the Headlines
What changed in the second week of the impeachment proceedings? What were the key developments, and what do they mean for the country moving forward?
Join us today on Beyond the Headlines as we break down the latest events, analyze the major issues, and provide context behind the headlines.
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What changed in the second week of the impeachment proceedings? What were the key developments, and what do they mean for the country moving forward?
Join us today on Beyond the Headlines as we break down the latest events, analyze the major issues, and provide context behind the headlines.
🗓️ Today
📺 LIVE on SunStar Cebu
Look deeper. Think better.
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NewsTranscript
00:21Thank you for joining us.
01:30Your perfect latte is ready. Coffee first, then everything else.
01:38Good afternoon and welcome to Beyond the Headlines, where we look deeper and think better.
01:43I'm DJ Moises and today's conversation is brought to us by Coffee First.
01:47As the impeachment proceedings entered days 4, 5 and 6, the focus has shifted to the evidence, the witness and
01:59the constitutional questions that could shape the outcome of one of the most consequential political trials in recent Philippine history.
02:09The prosecution has continued presenting its case under Article 4, arguing that the vice president's public statements and actions amount
02:19to grave misconduct and betrayal of public trust.
02:22The defense, meanwhile, insists that the statements have been taken out of context and do not meet the constitutional standard
02:31for impeachment.
02:33Today, we'll revisit the key developments from the second week of impeachment trial.
02:37Let's talk beyond the headlines because headlines tell us what happened.
02:42Understanding tells us why it matters.
02:45So now let's begin.
02:46So first is I will talk about what legal experts, because I've mentioned for the past episodes, I am not
02:55a lawyer, but our views here and my views here represent how the general public is understanding the impeachment trial.
03:03So now I will also have to listen to certain legal experts, because they generally agree that grave threats under
03:12Philippine law is a criminal offense.
03:16If I have to cite the exact article, it's under Article 282 of the revised Penal Code, which actually states
03:25that grave threats occur when a person threatens a commission of crime against another person, the property of that person,
03:36or the family of that person.
03:40So what the vice president made, as we all saw on the video that was streamed live, was a conditional
03:49threat.
03:50She said that if she's going to be killed, she already contacted an assassin who will also kill the president,
03:59the first lady, and the former speaker of the house.
04:05And then some lawyers would say that even if it was a conditional threat, it is still a threat against
04:14the president and the rest that she cited.
04:18But some lawyers would also put context into the conversation, because they would say that the vice president was emotionally
04:26charged at that time.
04:28Because if we recall, that was the week in which she seemed to have been pinned down by the Quadcom,
04:35and that there were also threats in the lives of her chief of staff, security, and the people that are
04:44also within her team.
04:46That's why we would say that the focus of the defense is really context.
04:51What was the context that moved the vice president to make that conditional threat?
05:00Now, if I am to be philosopher, because I believe that some of the viewers are also philosopher, like me,
05:06why would the threat, or why would be the people being threatened, would be threatened if they did not also
05:15intend to kill the vice president?
05:17Am I making sense? Because what the vice president actually said, if she gets killed, she contacted an assassin to
05:23kill them.
05:24So in the context of the conversation, if she's not killed, then there's no merit for that assassin to actually
05:32act on that threat.
05:35So what was the threat about?
05:37If I just have to be philosopher, because if there was no action taken against her, then there's no action
05:43taken against them.
05:44I hope I'm making sense, at least if it's a philosopher, but philosopher argument.
05:49But, well, we also have philosopher viewers, and I could hear them say something like that.
05:55Now, the other thing also, the good thing about this, like this misrena in our previous episodes,
06:03I'm not a lawyer, but I'm also educated about legal laws and also constitutional laws.
06:09I'm not good as any lawyer, but at least I'm following the impeachment and doing my best to actually learn
06:15about it.
06:16Now, what I learned is an impeachment court is not deciding a criminal case against grave threats.
06:26Again, a case on grave threats that's allegedly committed by the vice president.
06:30What the prosecution is actually using alleged threats to argue that the president committed grave threats,
06:42but is that also sufficient to qualify to the constitutional requirement that those grave threats that she uttered
06:51actually would constitute grave misconduct and betrayal of public trust.
06:58So, dili ni siya at criminal law ang ato ang gitry, no?
07:01This is constitutional law.
07:03So, kung criminal law, this is whether the vice president have committed elements, no?
07:09That is part of grave threat under Articles 282.
07:14But again, this is not a criminal trial.
07:18This is a constitutional trial.
07:20So, that means that the Senate's job is not to determine whether the vice president is guilty.
07:28No, there's criminal guilt under grave threats, no?
07:33What the trial or the Senate trial and the senator judges are actually determining
07:40is whether such utterance of those threats actually fall below the standard of integrity, restraint, and judgment
07:51that is expected of a vice president.
07:55And because of that, such act is a grave misconduct and a betrayal of public trust.
08:03And I think, as I stated earlier, that is the tricky part, no?
08:08And I think that's also where the challenge, no, to establish that aspect, no?
08:13So, that distinction, so I hope kitang mga viewers, no, o kitang nag-follow sa impeachment,
08:19the general public, the everyday Filipino, everyday Cebuano,
08:24is now able to see the distinction, no, between a criminal offense and a constitutional offense, no?
08:32Because that is already the heart of the impeachment trial, especially on the second week, no?
08:40Now, let's talk about the second witness, no?
08:44So, he is lawyer Jeremy Lotok, no?
08:48He was the former NBI chief of the Cybercrime Division.
08:54And he is now, incidentally, he is now the regional director of NBI, Bang Samoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
09:04or BARM.
09:05So, his promotion, by the way, happened earlier this year.
09:09So, we'll talk about that topic later, no?
09:13So, Attorney Jerry Lotok was the lead investigator who explained why the NBI concluded that the vice president's pronouncement that
09:27was streamed live
09:29warranted a criminal investigation.
09:33So, his testimony was meant to establish the seriousness of the alleged threat, no?
09:40So, I'm actually highlighting seriousness of the threat.
09:46Why?
09:47Because she is the second highest elected official in the Philippines.
09:53And given her power, no?
09:56And given her position, he actually alleged that she really could execute or implement the threat, no?
10:06That's why it's great, no?
10:07That's his part.
10:09Or that's the prosecution's part of the argument.
10:12But on the defense side, so this is Attorney Mark Bin-Luan, he actually argued that the context should also
10:22be understood, no?
10:26Because the vice president's controversial statements were responses in the press conference.
10:33And again, she was emotional, and then she was being pinned at that time by Quadcom, and then the people
10:40around her, her staff, was also allegedly harassed.
10:44So, this is more of like an emotional outburst, no?
10:50But not necessarily a threat.
10:53So, that's the defense side.
10:55Now, as a non-lawyer watching the trial, establishing whether the statements were offensive or alarming is different, no?
11:08It's different from actually stating that the vice president committed a betrayal of public trust, no?
11:19And that constitutional threshold, I believe, is one of the biggest challenge or hurdle that the prosecution will have to
11:28go beyond, no?
11:31Because, again, this is not a trial against a criminal offense, no?
11:38This is a constitutional offense.
11:40So, this is not just about Article 282.
11:46This is really about whether the vice president, her action constitutes betrayal of public trust.
11:53And that, to me, is harder to prove.
11:55And I think for the past two weeks, that area, in my opinion, was not exactly established or absolutely established.
12:08So, the defense, if I am to look at the strength on both sides.
12:13And by the way, as I've said in the previous episodes, no?
12:17I mean, impeachment is a national exercise of critical thinking.
12:22And then now we have better appreciation of our lawyers because I think, I really believe that both sides are
12:28really good.
12:28And there are noise that we could see in social media, kind of memes or kind of tweets.
12:36But let's be more mindful because if we really follow the impeachment trial, it's more than the noise that we
12:41see.
12:42And the views that I'm sharing here is I'm doing my best to remove the noise and then we just
12:48focus on the issue, no?
12:50So, if we look at the prosecution's side, for the past two weeks, they, in my opinion, actually are impressive,
12:56no?
12:57The methodology, the presentation, the sequence, to me, they're actually very impressive.
13:04And even the conduct, no?
13:05Especially of Attorney Liguta, no?
13:09The conduct was really, in my view, kind of impressive to me as an everyday someone watching the trial.
13:18But I will also have to say that, in my view, the prosecution stopped short, no?
13:25In saying that, in establishing that it truly was a betrayal of public trust, no?
13:34So, that to me is really a bar that's high, no?
13:39That they are yet to go beyond, no?
13:43For them to be able to establish the constitutional offense of the vice president.
13:49On the defense side, daghan po tayong mga meme, no?
13:53Last week or this week, no?
13:54Ang bida na po this week is si Attorney Mark Villuan, no?
13:58And daghan na pong memes about him, especially about katong,
14:01he noted about the vice president's raping, no?
14:07When she took the body example.
14:08Let's set that aside, no?
14:10But on the defense side, what I liked about them was also restraint,
14:16because they did not purposely damage the prosecution's evidence, no?
14:22They also did not consciously damage the witnesses, no?
14:26If we look at last week and this week.
14:29But they also have prevented the proceeding to be one-sided, no?
14:35So, it's also becoming clear and clear to me the context that they are trying to present to the public.
14:44And why do I keep on saying the public?
14:47Because this is also trial by publicity, no?
14:51Because while it's constitutional, it's also political.
14:56So, that means they also have to take the public into consideration when they present their arguments.
15:03It's not just about the senator judges, no?
15:06So, they're very clear, no?
15:08Also, in holding their own, no?
15:10About the vice president's statements taken out of context.
15:15And that it was actually a rhetorical outburst rather than an actual threat.
15:21And that the criminal offense has not been proven.
15:27And before the start of the impeachment, there were quite a number of speculation,
15:32and I think even hype on the prosecution's side,
15:35that they will present a witness that would establish, no?
15:39That would prove that an assassin was really contacted.
15:43But, unfortunately, for the last two weeks, they were not able to do that, no?
15:48What they were able to present is the video was authentic,
15:51and the defense did not question that.
15:54And that the second week, they established that it merits a criminal investigation, no?
16:02And the defense also did not dismantle that.
16:05They just say that, yeah, but you cannot prove that an assassin was actually contacted, no?
16:12And it's just taken out of context, no?
16:17So, the defense also came strong in my view, no?
16:21So, medyo tabla ang duha.
16:23So, I will have to go, because this is just six days, no, of the 92 days.
16:30So, we're still on the early part of the trial.
16:32So, I would go with what constitutional lawyers and experts would say,
16:36that it is still premature to actually say whether it's moving towards prosecution,
16:43leaning towards prosecution, or leaning towards the defense, no?
16:48Because, in my view, mulang tabla pagyan sila karun, no?
16:52In my view.
16:52If we remove all the noise and the memes that we see in social media, no?
16:57So, the key takeaway then, kung tanaw na to ni Karun on the second week of the trial is,
17:07the debate is no longer about the criminal offense, no?
17:10And the statement of the facts that support it.
17:13The conversation on the trial is already moving towards something that's increasingly constitutional.
17:22And so, for now, there is nobody on both sides actually, no, would say that they are leading
17:29or they are lagging behind.
17:33Of course, both the sides would say they are leading, the prosecution and the defense.
17:37And for me, that's part of perception management.
17:39So, if I'll get rid of that and just look at it on my observation, medyo tabla pagid karun.
17:44Now, the other thing also that we also heard on the third, on the 4, 5, 6,
17:50on the sixth day of the trial, the prosecution also announced that they are streamlining
17:56the numbers of witnesses that they are fielding, no?
17:59So, they will no longer present the office of the vice president, chief of staff, Zulaika Lopez.
18:07Wala din na na sila ipresent.
18:09And then, ang house security official na si Captain Belinda Bello.
18:13So, they are no longer going to be summoned, no?
18:19Or to the witness stand, no?
18:22So, now, dagang speculation na po about this, because some people would say nga, ah, sige,
18:28on favor of the prosecution would say, asa, they dropped the two, kay solid naman ang ila
18:32ang case with just, um, uh, with just John Mark Kalilong and attorney Jerry Lotok.
18:38So, solid na sila, there is no need, and, and, and quality is better than quantity, no?
18:42That's for the supporters of the, the prosecution.
18:46But supporters also of the defense would say na, ah, ni undang na sila rin to, because
18:51they don't have an assassin, no, to, to, to, to present.
18:56So, there's no way for them, while they are able to successfully present authentication
19:00of the video, and that the NBI said, ah, it merits an investigation, but they don't have
19:06any more witness to actually state that, to prove that an assassin was really, uh, contacted
19:12by the, or commissioned by the vice president to implement the threat.
19:15So, they stopped short of that, which is also, kanang, a valid way of looking at it.
19:20So, as I've said, even in, in, in the removal of the two witnesses, tablagya po ng duhan.
19:25So, both parties, or both, uh, both the defense and the prosecution, in my view, are surprisingly
19:31and amazingly good, and I meant that in a good way, no?
19:35Now, let's talk about the Senate numbers.
19:37As of this time, we're still looking at 16 votes, no, to convict the vice president.
19:42And with the way things are going, kanang, it looks like, ako lang ni nga, kanang lisudgi hapan
19:48ang 16 votes to convict the vice president.
19:51And if we look at it on how the trial is progressing, as I've stated earlier, tabla pa biya.
19:57So, there's no sufficient ground also for certain senators to, to shift their alliances, just
20:04because of what they saw for the first two weeks.
20:07So, but, so, numbers wise, it looked like, um, 16 votes to convict the vice president, in
20:13my view, remains to be an uphill climb, no?
20:17Because the, as I've said, the first two weeks, not compelling enough, no, to convict the vice
20:23president.
20:24Now, a certain, the conversation also, the trial has moved towards whether they should
20:30Suprina, no, the vice president's bank records, I think this one is the tricky part, no?
20:35I would be interested to also see this, no?
20:38And then the Anti-Mannually Laundering Council records, and then the BIR box, no?
20:44We discussed, uh, in, in, in, in last week, no?
20:48Records, and then records involving her husband, no?
20:51Uh, Attorney Carpio.
20:52So, so, so, the, the, these, the, the discussion is already moving towards this.
20:57And then let's see, because with the way the first week is going, yeah, medyo tabla ang
21:01doha, I would be interested how the debate, or the trial, would go specific to, uh, the,
21:07uh, these, kind of, evidences, no?
21:10Now, before we end, di, promise ko kaganina nga, I would comment about the promotion of
21:16Attorney Jerry Lotto.
21:17So, but let's go into why that's also an interesting matter to, to, to check, no?
21:23Because, again, there are also subplots in this teleserye, no?
21:29Ang subplot nga nahita bo is, if we recall, the arrest of Senator Jinggoy Estrada, and also
21:35the detention of Senator Rodanto Marcoleta.
21:39And both of them were detained, uh, for the case on plunder.
21:43And plunder is a non-bailable offense.
21:46Refresher lang po, let's also, kanang, kanang, kanang, see, no?
21:50That, uh, the, uh, ah, later na lang ako ikawin ang resensya.
21:54So, that's on the Duterte allies.
21:56Because, as we can see, Senator, uh, Jinggoy Estrada, and Senator, uh,
22:01Rodanto Marcoleta are Duterte allies, no?
22:04Perceived to be Duterte allies.
22:06Now, just this week, nanapoy bago.
22:08So, si NBI Director, Melvin Matibag, publicly announced that the NBI opened an investigation
22:14on the alleged irregularity of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
22:19And, as we know, the chair of the Southeast Asian Games is now Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.
22:26Again, Cayetano, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, is also perceived to be an ally of the Duterte, no?
22:32So, sunod-sunod sila, no?
22:34On the other hand, katong namalhin, si Senator Cheez Escudero and Senator Joel Valle de Nueva,
22:42they both implicate, they were both implicated on flag control, but to date, there's no case filed against them.
22:48And then, uh, we'd also, uh, we'd also see na si, uh, uh, Mike Defensor, former Congressman Mike Defensor, no?
22:56He's also an ally of the Duterte.
22:59He's also detained both on plunder and human trafficking, no?
23:04So, katong mga ally sa Duterte, there seems to be a pattern of being pressured, uh, in, and then,
23:11if we look at also the allies of the President, let's start with Budget Secretary Amina Parang,
23:17former Budget Secretary Amina Pangandaman, di ba?
23:22Siya man to ang katong kanang ni, ni, ni, ni, ni, ni, resign, no?
23:26Out of kanang delegadesa, because she was implicated in the flood control scandal.
23:31But this week, it was announced that she's appointed as the chairperson and the chief executive of Amina Bank, no?
23:38And this is the country's only Islamic bank, and also a government-owned and controlled corporation.
23:45So, ni progress ang iaang career.
23:48And, and, and, and let's go back to what I mentioned in the intro, uh, when we also take a
23:53look at the case of Jeremy Lotok,
23:55he was the one who led the high-profile investigation to probe the Vice President's public statement, no?
24:02On November of 2024.
24:04And then, uh, early, uh, uh, this year, he's already, uh, uh, oh no, in 2025, uh, no, I think
24:14it's early this year.
24:15But, but, but what I'm trying to say is, recently he's promoted, no?
24:18From the head of Cybercrime Crime Division, he's already promoted currently as the regional director of NBI Barn.
24:26So, there seems to be a progress in career, no?
24:30And, or, or no cases are filed for, uh, for those implicated in flag control,
24:36but they have, uh, already allied, you know, with the president, you know?
24:40So, that's just the pattern.
24:42I'm not saying that we can already arrive at a conclusion that there's harassment on those allied to the Dutertes,
24:50and then there seems to be a pre-pass, and even career progression on those who are siding with the
24:57president.
24:57I'm not saying because it's still premature to conclude,
25:00but I just wish the public will continue to monitor these cases.
25:05Temurag, namang gin siya yung progression, di ba?
25:07The, the recent NBI pronouncement against Senator Cayetano,
25:11and then the promotion also of former Budget Secretary Amina Tangandaman.
25:15So, there's progression also, as the impeachment trial is, kind of, unfolding.
25:20And now, before I close this episode, we go back to the impeachment trial,
25:24because I also hope that this is the value that we bring to you, our viewers,
25:29and if you have comments, and if you have questions,
25:32you can also type them in at the comment section,
25:36and then we'll do our best to also answer those questions or engage in, in, in those, kind of, conversation.
25:42But if we go back to, to the impeachment trial,
25:46let's, let's remember, no,
25:48this is not a, a trial on a criminal offense, no.
25:55This is a trial on a constitutional offense.
25:59And in this particular article, and I'm referring to Article 4,
26:03this, we are, the, the, the, the Senate judges are not determining
26:09whether the vice president is actually guilty of a criminal crime,
26:14which is grave threats.
26:16What the senator judges are determining is whether the vice president
26:20has really crossed the line, you know,
26:23when it comes to constitutional,
26:27kind of, requirements of her as the second elected,
26:32highest elected public official in the Philippines.
26:35And that what she did is not just a grave misconduct,
26:39but a betrayal of public trust, no.
26:42That's where the senator judges are going to vote.
26:47So, the impeachment will eventually end,
26:52but the precedence that we set,
26:55the institution that we strengthen,
26:58and the lessons that we learn will remain long after this trial ends.
27:03That's why understanding matters.
27:07And until the next time,
27:09let's keep looking beyond the clickbaits,
27:12beyond the headlines,
27:14and even beyond the noise.
27:16The headlines will tell us what happened.
27:19Understanding will tell us why it matters.
27:22So, I'm DJ Moises.
27:24This is Beyond the Headlines.
27:26Have a good afternoon.
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