00:01President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appoints Rodil Zalameda as the country's 28th Supreme Court
00:06Chief Justice. Former law school dean Ralph Sarmiento declines to testify for the defense
00:12in the Sara Duterte impeachment trial. A jail warden confirms a staff member of former House
00:18Speaker Martin Romualdez is with him in his Payatas jail cell. Inflation in the Philippines
00:22surges to 7.8% in October 2026. And Canada's Mark Carney will attend the ASEAN Summit in
00:29Manila.
00:37President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. chooses Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda as the country's 28th
00:43Supreme Court Chief Justice. Zalameda replaces Chief Justice Alexander Gismundo who will retire
00:48on Friday, November 6. Zalameda, the third most senior among the Chief Justice nominees,
00:54will serve as Chief Justice for seven years until he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.
00:59As top magistrate, Zalameda will be the head of the judiciary and all courts in the country.
01:05The Chief Justice steers the judiciary along with the 14 Associate Justices of the High Court through
01:10landmark rulings and judicial actions. For Zalameda's appointment, Marcos skipped seniority,
01:16bypassing Senior Associate Justice Marvick Leonen, the second most senior SE Justice since May 2022,
01:21and Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamín Caguiwa. Then-President Benigno Aquino III appointed
01:27Leonen in November 2012 and Caguiwa in January 2016. Zalameda authored the SC First Division's ruling
01:34that cleared the President's mother, Imelda Marcos, of seven counts of graft related to Swiss
01:38foundations. The 50-page decision overturned the Sandigan Bayan's November 2018 decision that
01:44convicted the 97-year-old former First Lady of seven counts of graft.
01:50Former Law School Dean Ralph Sarmiento declines Vice President Sara Duterte's defense team's request
01:56for him to testify for her impeachment trial. Duterte's trial will resume on Monday, November 9.
02:02This comes a day after the defense identified Sarmiento as its first witness.
02:06Mahalaga po sa akin ang aking independence as a constitutional law professor at isang legal
02:13analyst. Gusto ko pong magpatuloy na makapagbigay ng aking mga opinion na malaya at patas.
02:21The defense team wants the law professor to testify on legal and constitutional principles relevant
02:26to the impeachment case, particularly on Duterte's alleged unexplained wealth.
02:30Sarmiento says he had already communicated with the defense to withdraw its request for a subpoena
02:35compelling his appearance or seek its recall if it had already been issued.
02:39I remain committed to contributing to the public understanding of the Constitution
02:45independently and fairly and through balanced and impartial legal analysis.
02:52Michael Poa, spokesperson for Duterte's defense team, says they respect Sarmiento's decision.
02:58Sarmiento was law school dean of the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City until September 30,
03:022025, and has since been the university's vice chancellor for administration.
03:09Circulating reports claim former Speaker Martin Romualdez is allowed to go in and out of the
03:13New Quezon City Jail in Payatas where he is detained. Because of this, Sandigan Bayan 3rd Division
03:19chair Carl Miranda called a hearing on the issue Thursday, November 5. Jail warden Maria Lourdes
03:24Passon reveals Romualdez has no personal security inside the jail but he has personal staff who look
03:30after him. Romualdez's staff has been staying inside the jail since Romualdez was detained on
03:35September 14 and attends to the congressman's personal needs. The warden explains although this is not
03:41allowed by the rules of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, she approved it because they cannot
03:45provide staff who will assist the former House Speaker. Meantime, media personality Ramon Tulfo
03:51posts a statement on Thursday retracting his claim that Romualdez is allowed to go in and out of his
03:55detention cell in Payatas. He writes on Facebook,
03:58I was fed the wrong report that former Speaker Martin Romualdez could go in and out of jail.
04:02It was fiction. I goofed. No excuses.
04:05Romualdez's lawyer Aide Fajardo also confirms to reporters they have a cease and desist letter
04:10against Tulfo. The Sandigan Bayan's hearing on the case will continue on Monday, November 9.
04:17Philippine inflation surges to 7.8% in October 2026, marking the highest rate since February 2023.
04:24For the second straight month, higher fuel, electricity, and transport prices squeezed
04:29households already struggling with the rising cost of living. October 2026's inflation rate is the
04:35highest since February 2023 when inflation hit 8.6% following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the
04:41resulting disruptions to global food and energy markets. This brings the average inflation rate
04:46from January to October to 5.6%, exceeding the government's target range of 2-4%. Transport is the
04:53biggest driver of the rise in October inflation. The second biggest commodity group driver is housing,
04:59water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, which recorded 9.3% inflation.
05:05Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will attend the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations
05:10or ASEAN Summit in the Philippines. Manila will be the second in a four-country stop across Europe and
05:15Asia. Carney's office says this is part of the Prime Minister's effort to strengthen Canada's
05:20international partnerships. During his visit, Carney will work to finalize two free trade agreements,
05:25one with ASEAN and another with the Philippines. He's also expected to have a bilateral meeting with
05:30President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Marcos and Carney last met in July this year during Marcos' official
05:36visit to Vancouver. During that visit, ties were officially elevated to a strategic partnership.
05:43And that's today's wrap. I'm JC Gotinga. Thank you for watching. Click the link below for the full story.
05:48For more updates, download the Rappler app.
05:55Subscribe to Lucy OutK ici.
05:56You
