00:00For more information, visit www.fema.org
00:31And, the Supreme Court grants petitions to compel Congress to pass a law against political dynasties.
00:46Former President Rodrigo Duterte personally appears during the third status conference hearing of his case at the International Criminal Court.
00:53He faces three counts of crimes against humanity over his drug war during his term.
00:58This is Duterte's first in-person appearance and his second overall after his online attendance during the ICC's initial hearing
01:05on March 14, 2025.
01:07Presiding Judge Joanna Corner notes during the hearing, Duterte does not waive his appearance, unlike in the first two status
01:14conferences.
01:15Duterte has been detained in The Hague, Netherlands since 2025.
01:18His case is currently at the trial stage after the pretrial chamber on April 23 confirmed all three charges against
01:24the former president.
01:25Duterte's full-blown trial will begin on November 30.
01:30Three of four retired Supreme Court justices consulted by the impeachment court say the threshold to convict Sara Duterte is
01:36not fixed at 16 votes.
01:38The three Amici Curie say the constitutional provision stating that no person shall be convicted without a two-thirds vote
01:45of all members of the Senate does not automatically put the denominator at 24.
01:49They are former Chief Justices Renato Puno, Hilario Davide Jr., and Artemio Panganiban.
01:55In the written position read by the Senate Secretary, Davide says,
01:58The framers of the constitutions of 1935, 1973, and 1987 could never have intended to include in all members
02:08those who cannot participate in the hearings and deliberations on the impeachment,
02:12such as those who are outside the jurisdiction of the Philippines,
02:15or whose whereabouts are unknown or in hiding to avoid arrest.
02:19He adds,
02:20Those who cannot exercise their rights and privileges as a senator due to some legal impediment or restraints,
02:26such as plunder charges, should be excluded from the count.
02:29Senators Jingoy Estrada, Rodante Marcoleta, Bato de la Rosa, and Loren Legarda continue to be absent from the impeachment trial.
02:35Is it fair and truthful? Should the senators be allowed to vote though they are in hiding, abroad, legally detained,
02:46sick, hospitalized, or otherwise absent,
02:50and have not been able to access and examine the documents, have not heard the testimonies, and have not observed
02:59the demeanor of the witnesses?
03:01Puno argues if the conviction threshold is fixed at 16, the constitution should have explicitly said so.
03:07By using two-thirds the number of votes to convict, we'll have to move, depending on certain factors.
03:18Only retired Supreme Court Justice Adolfo Azcuna interprets the provision to be locked at 16 votes for conviction.
03:24I respectfully submit, your honors, that the reference in this provision is to all members of the Senate.
03:34As long as they are members of the Senate, they constitute the denominator and computing the threshold of two-thirds,
03:45because all means all.
03:50Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez enters a not guilty plea in his 7.44 billion peso plunder case related to
03:57the flood control mess during his arraignment on Wednesday, September 16.
04:01This means his plunder case now moves to trial.
04:04Romualdez was not physically present at the 3rd Division after the anti-graft court allowed him to attend online.
04:10This setup could be invoked by the accused as long as the court allows it.
04:14But the court directed its clerk to personally go to the new Quezon City Jail, where Romualdez is detained, to
04:19read the information against him.
04:21The Office of the Ombudsman alleges Romualdez is the central figure in the flood control scheme.
04:26He was charged with plunder on September 7 for allegedly receiving kickbacks.
04:31The Bangsamoro people decide no single party will get absolute control over their first-ever elected parliament
04:37following the historic elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
04:42Before the September 14 elections, the two parties widely seen as leading contenders are the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's United
04:49Bangsamoro Justice Party
04:50and its rival, the Bangsamoro Federalist Party.
04:53The BFP is led by the region's interim chief minister and ex-UBJP Secretary General Abdulraov Makakuwa.
05:00Election results show how tight the race between both parties was, with the BFP winning 31 bets
05:05and having only a marginal lead over rival UBJP's 30 seats.
05:09This means neither party will be able to single-handedly take control of the Bangsamoro parliament
05:14or ensure the election of their chosen bet for chief minister, the head of the Barm Regional Government's executive branch.
05:20This maybe is an avoidable situation because you cannot really form a government without completing the majority of the 41,
05:3442, or the simple majority for that matter.
05:37So you have to look for a coalition government in order to establish a government.
05:44On Proclamation Night on Tuesday, September 15, the BFP's Bangsamoro members of parliament-elect Makakuwa and Ishak Mastura said
05:51forming a coalition is necessary to form the Barm's government of the day.
05:56Meantime, the other two parties that make up the Bangsamoro parliament's party representatives
06:00are the Barm Grand Coalition with eight seats and the Raayat Democratic Party with one seat.
06:06In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court unanimously grants the petitions that seek to compel Congress to pass a law
06:12against political dynasties.
06:14Supreme Court spokesperson Camille Ting explains Article 2, Section 26 of the 1987 Constitution
06:19mandates the country's legislative bodies to pass a law that will prohibit political dynasties.
06:24In its ruling, the SC also declares that Congress's prolonged failure to enact an anti-dynasty law constituted grave abuse
06:31of discretion.
06:31The High Court notes that several anti-political dynasty bills have been filed since the ratification of the 1987 Constitution,
06:38but none has been enacted.
06:40It also notes that political dynasties remain widespread, even extending to the party list system.
06:46Through this majority vote, the SC also abandons its pronouncements in the past rulings that said that Article 2, Section
06:5226 is not self-executing.
06:54In 2013, the High Court ruled that the prohibition on political dynasties requires an enabling law under the Constitution.
07:02And that's today's wrap. I'm JC Gutinga. Thank you for watching.
07:06Click the link below for the full story.
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