00:01Defense witness Davao City accountant Vingeline Bahan can't confirm her own signature, frustrating Senator Judges in Vice President Sara Duterte's
00:10impeachment trial.
00:11The Sandigan Bayan suspends late Congressman Martin Romualdez over his plunder case linked to flood control corruption.
00:18The Justice Department orders cyber libel cases filed against lawyer Ferdinand Topasho as well as pro-Duterte personalities Jay Sonza,
00:25Byron Cristobal, Jeffrey Celis, Chrisette Chu, and Alex Destor.
00:30The Department of Trade and Industry says the Philippines will not sign on to pack silica during the ASEAN summit.
00:36And Filipina tennis star Alex Ayala climbs to world number 15 and becomes the second best in Asia.
00:49Defense witness and Davao City accountant Vingeline Bahan seems to have tested the patience of both the prosecution and the
00:55senator judges during the 41st day of Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial.
01:00At the start of the day, Sen. Judges Tito Soto and Ping Lakson remind witnesses of the penalties they face
01:06if they lie under oath.
01:07This after the defense's first witness, Davao City Assessor Jaime Adalin, initially lied about the trip to China.
01:14At one point, presiding officer Cheez Escudero expresses frustration over Bahan's evasive responses to the prosecution's questions.
01:21Ms. Ivan, please, I mean, forgive me.
01:25I find it...
01:26I don't know if I can remember.
01:28Ms. Ivan, party kayo ng accounting firm.
01:32Hindi nyo maalala kung kailan kayo umalis o kung final po yan.
01:37Nasa harap nyo na po yung dokumento.
01:39Private prosecutor May Divina Gracia asks Bahan about her previous employment as a partner of the Ampil, Elises, Cuidadano, and
01:47Company accounting firm.
01:48Bahan repeatedly says she could not remember working as a partner of the firm.
01:53Confronted with documents bearing her own signatures, Bahan appeared confused,
01:57saying the papers do have her tax account number and signature similar to hers but still could not recall signing
02:02them.
02:03She was also seen looking at the defense team as she thought of what to say, which Divina Gracia called
02:07out.
02:08Yes, this is your tax account number?
02:10Ito po iyong tax account number ko po.
02:14Yung firma, hindi nyo maalala kung inyo.
02:17Hindi nyo maalala ang pinirmahan yan?
02:20Yes po, Your Honor.
02:21Kapareho ba yan ang firma nyo?
02:23Yes po, Your Honor.
02:25Ampil, Elises, Cuidadano, and Company served as the external auditor of Gencorp Industries, Inc. and Metro City Chao Foods, Inc.,
02:33two companies linked to Duterte.
02:35Sen. Wynn Gachalian later says the company is also the external auditor of the Vice President and her husband, Manasseh
02:41Scarpio.
02:42Bahan's answers triggered Sen. Judges who were already impatient following their experience with Adaline the previous day.
02:48Ang iniisip namin baka pumunta ka rito, nagagamit ka lang.
02:55Dahil kayo ang city accountant ng Dabao na parang wala kayong alam.
03:05Sana kung magsalita kayo ng totoo.
03:07Kahapon, yung witness, isang witness, tatawa-tawa.
03:12Ngayon, ito, very evasive, nagmaang-maangan.
03:16Pati kaya natin makontep mga ito.
03:18Sa gawin, magkaroon ng respeto sa impeachment court.
03:23The anti-graft court Sandigan Bayan 3rd Division suspends Leyte Congressman and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez for 90 days.
03:31Romualdez is facing plunder, a non-bailable offense, due to alleged 7.44 billion pesos in kickbacks from government flood
03:38control projects.
03:40The law states any public officer with a pending plunder case must be suspended from office.
03:45Romualdez is Leyte First District Representative and the first cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
03:50He has been detained in the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas since September 14.
03:55The office of the ombudsman filed a plunder charge against him with the Sandigan Bayan on September 7.
04:00The 3rd Division issued an arrest warrant on the same day, ordering his detention.
04:06The Department of Justice orders cyber-libel cases to be filed against lawyer Ferdinand Topasho and five other pro-Duterte
04:13personalities.
04:13This stems from complaints from Senator Risa Ontiveros over statements they made when she was leading an investigation on Apollo
04:20Quiboloy.
04:21Besides Topasho, the other respondents are
04:32In a resolution made public on Tuesday, November 10, the DOJ grants Ontiveros' petition to overturn earlier dismissals of her
04:40complaints against the respondents.
04:42The complaints included Michael Maurilio, who appeared as a witness in the Senate probe on Quiboloy.
04:47Maurilio testified that he was abused and exploited as a worker for Quiboloy's sect and then later appeared in a
04:53video claiming Ontiveros made him fabricate his testimony.
04:56Topasho, Sonza, Cristobal, Celiz, Chu, and Destor echoed Maurilio's claims and made other accusations against Ontiveros in their own posts.
05:04At first, the DOJ charged only Maurilio for cyber-libel and dismissed Ontiveros' complaints against the six others.
05:11She then filed a petition for review, which the DOJ now affirms.
05:15It says the respondents presented the accusations against her not as suspicions or opinions, but as though they were facts
05:21of wrongdoing.
05:24The Department of Trade and Industry says the Philippines will not yet sign on to Pax Silica during the ASEAN
05:29Summit happening in Manila from November 15 to 18.
05:33DTI Undersecretary Seferino Rodolfo says Tuesday, November 10, the DTI doesn't want the anticipated signing to, quote,
05:39piggyback on the 49th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.
05:44Instead, he says the country joining Pax Silica deserves its own moment, and the government expects an agreement to be
05:50signed before the end of 2026.
05:52U.S. Ambassador Lee Lipton earlier said as much, dispelling speculation that the deal would be signed when U.S.
05:58President Donald Trump visits Manila for the ASEAN Summit.
06:00Pax Silica plans for a 1,600-hectare development in New Clark City, Tarlac.
06:05It's a coalition led by the U.S. aimed at strengthening supply chains for semiconductors, critical minerals, and other advanced
06:12technologies.
06:13There's strong opposition from various groups over concerns about its demands for energy and water and its adverse impact on
06:19the environment.
06:22Yet another career high for Alex Ayala, she climbs to world number 15 and the second best in Asia.
06:28This is based on the latest WTA rankings released Monday, November 9.
06:32She surpasses Japan superstar Naomi Osaka, who slides down to Ayala's former spot at number 17.
06:38Both women have ended their 2026 season.
06:41Ayala stopped short of the Hong Kong Open title on November 8.
06:44Osaka bowed out of the Torre Pan-Pacific Open round of 16 on November 1.
06:49In Asia, Ayala is outranked only by Kazakhstan's Elena Ribakina, who is currently the world's number one in women's tennis.
06:57At the Hong Kong Open awarding ceremony, Ayala said this year's season has, quote,
07:01changed her life for the better and that it was only the beginning.
07:06And that's today's wrap.
07:07I'm JC Gotinga.
07:09Click the link below for the full story.
07:11For more updates, download the Rappler app.
