00:01With the continued absence of some senators, the Senate Impeachment Court is asked to decide on the voting threshold for
00:07the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
00:10The prosecution team plans to call Sara Duterte to the witness stand at her impeachment trial.
00:15Boxer and former Senator Manny Pacquiao is appointed lead convener of the National Anti-Poverty Commission.
00:20Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. criticizes China for disrespecting international law in a forum in Seoul.
00:27And the unemployment rate in the country jumps to a four-year high of 6% in July.
00:40Senator Judge Irwin Tulfo asks the Senate Impeachment Court to decide on the voting threshold for the trial, citing the
00:46continued absence of some senators.
00:48Tulfo says it should now be clear how many votes are required for Duterte's acquittal or conviction as the trial
00:54moves closer to its end.
00:55If we insist that the voting base is fixed at 24, regardless of the evidence presented, regardless of the vote
01:05of the senators who are able to listen to the testimonies,
01:08the absence of those senators, whether we like it or not, will result in an acquittal by default.
01:14Four senator judges had been absent for most of the trial, Loren Legarda, Ronald Bato de la Rosa, Rodante Marcoleta,
01:21and Gingo Estrada.
01:22But Senator Judges Pia Cayetano and Robin Padilla opposed the lowering of the threshold and moved to retain the 16
01:28-vote conviction threshold.
01:30Residing officer, Chief Escudero, rules the impeachment court will seek the opinion of Amici Kyure or friends of the court
01:36in resolving the issue, which may include retired Supreme Court justices.
01:40We already talked about some retired justices of the Supreme Court, but I'm not yet at liberty to state their
01:47names because we have not yet gotten in touch with them.
01:50A hearing on this is slated on September 16, while the oral arguments and the impeachment court's decision is scheduled
01:56for September 23.
01:57Meantime, constitutional lawyer Lulu Reyes says elevating the conviction threshold issue to the SC at this point would be dangerous.
02:04Because if indeed the question as to the number of votes is elevated to the Supreme Court, that might raise
02:11the possibility of the Supreme Court deciding against the judgment rendered by the Senate.
02:20The Senate impeachment court also issues a new schedule for Duterte's impeachment trial, aiming to complete it before the end
02:26of the year.
02:33The prosecution plans to call Vice President Sara Duterte as a witness in her impeachment trial.
02:39They intend to put her on the stand regarding her alleged misuse of confidential funds.
02:44But private prosecutor Lorna Capunan says the prosecution will not request the court to subpoena Duterte for now.
02:50It reserves the right to do so after the presentation of all remaining impeachment articles.
02:54Duterte's defense team opposes the move.
02:57They cite Article 3, Section 17 of the Constitution, which states that no person shall be compelled to be a
03:02witness against himself.
03:04Presiding officer Chis Escudero says the court will wait for a formal motion to be filed by the prosecution before
03:09making a ruling.
03:10But he floated the possibility of conducting oral arguments to settle the matter.
03:14Constitutional lawyer Lulu Reyes explains the constitutional right against self-incrimination.
03:19In criminal cases, for the accused, the right against self-incrimination is absolute and therefore cannot be compelled to take
03:28the witness stand.
03:31President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appoints boxer and former Senator Manny Pacquiao as lead convener of the National Anti-Poverty Commission.
03:39Pacquiao takes his oath before Marcos in Malacanang, receiving the rank of cabinet secretary.
03:43The former senator replaces Lopez Santos III.
03:47In a statement, Malacanang says the president expresses his trust in Pacquiao's leadership to boost government efforts in fighting poverty,
03:54pursuing social reforms, and bringing programs and services closer to communities in the whole country.
03:59Pacquiao ran for senator in the 2025 elections under the administration ticket but lost.
04:04The appointment ban on defeated 2025 candidates ended on May 13 this year.
04:11Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. criticizes Beijing for, quote,
04:16disrespecting international law at the Seoul Defense Dialogue.
04:19This comes after he was slipped a note apparently outlining China's rejection of the landmark 2016 arbitral award that affirms
04:25the Philippines' maritime rights.
04:27I have a note here. I think this is from China.
04:31Teodoro spoke during the first plenary session of the forum titled Collaborative Architecture for International Stability.
04:37He went on to comment on China's stand on the landmark ruling on the West Philippine Sea.
04:41How can you deal with a country in an international forum beyond the question asked to me?
04:52Disrespecting the organizers of this forum, how do you expect to deal with it civilly?
04:58China refuses to recognize the award and calls it illegal, null, and void, even if it ought to be binding
05:03under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
05:06Perhaps basic decency and behavior is what China needs to do.
05:11In Filipino, maging disente lang kayo ng konti. Mahiya naman kayo ng konti.
05:17Teodoro says the note was proof of actual coercion, bullying, and aggression. He closes by saying,
05:23You just done your country a great service. Thank you. And I hope you don't suffer in a gulag for
05:29it.
05:30Bilateral ties between Manila and Beijing have been strained in recent years.
05:33The Philippines, under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has taken a strong stance in implementing the 2016 Arbitral Award.
05:42The Philippines' unemployment rate rises to 6% in July 2026 as 3.14 million Filipinos are left without work.
05:50This is the highest in more than four years.
05:53The rate is higher than the 4.9% recorded in June 2026 and the 5.3% in July
05:592025.
06:00The last time unemployment was this high was in June 2022 when the rate was also 6%.
06:05In terms of actual people without jobs, July's 3.14 million was the highest since December 2021 when the figure
06:12reached around 3.28 million.
06:14National statistician Dennis Mapa says the increase was driven in large part by more Filipinos, particularly young people, joining the
06:22labor market but finding too few jobs available.
06:27And that's today's wrap. I'm JC Gutinga. Thank you for watching. Click the link below for the full story. For
06:33more updates, download the Raptor app.
