[OPINION] Duterte impeachment trial Day 3: Court zeroes in on star witness, takes some heat off VP
Until Tuesday night, the political temperature was high on Vice President Sara Duterte in the impeachment trial seeking to eliminate her in the May 2028 presidential elections.
But on the third day, the drama lost its edge—a few steps down as the trial zeroed in on the star witness of the prosecution, NBI senior agent John Mark Calilung, whose energy and alertness could not match those of the private prosecutor, Atty. Amando Virgil Ligutan.
Calilung spoke softly, sometimes inaudibly, in answering the cross-examination of the defense counsel, Atty. Carlo Joaquin Narvasa, forcing viewers to change gear.
His repeated requests—to read anew his own team’s two documents submitted to the Department of Justice, the first and the revised one, and to replay the video showing Duterte's chief of staff Zuleika Lopez complaining over a House committee’s shabby treatment—didn’t help show that he was an experienced NBI investigator.
He said he didn’t know Lopez. It was obvious at the outset that he was reluctant to talk about the alleged threats against Duterte, preferring only to talk about the alleged threats against the Marcoses.
In time, the prosecution lost the heat, as the defense seized it by default—well, it was the time for the defense’s cross-examination, putting the spotlight on Calilung's credentials and testimony.
Senator-judge Robin Padilla asked for a copy of Calilung’s credentials, while senator-judge Kiko Pangilinan asked him to expound on his digital training—so did other senator-judges Bam Aquino, Vicente Sotto, Ping Lacson, Raffy Tulfo, Erwin Tulfo, and Migs Zubiri.
Competent, not expert
While the senator-judges didn’t sound hostile, their questions exposed a lapse in the trial that they had been hearing for three days, the testimony of a witness whom they hardly knew, save for a short introduction made by the private prosecution.
On non-stop questioning, Calilung told the court he was not an expert witness—as he was widely believed to be on the first and second day of the hearing—but a competent witness.
While neither he nor the defense managed to clarify the difference between the two terms, the clarification raised questions about his fitness.
On that aspect, the defense managed to turn the tables, turning the heat on Calilung, not on his points against Duterte’s threats on President Marcos and family, which was the subject of his investigation.
The defense also managed to introduce to the proceedings the circumstances that paved the way for Duterte to make those alleged threats against the Marcoses. She was under siege by the very same people now accusing her of threatening to harm them.
Senator-judges Imee Marcos and Erwin Tulfo sought to furnish copies of affidavits and reports pertaining to the witnesses and other relevant documents.
It was the first time more senator-judges took the floor to participate in the trial. In the last two days, only brother and sister Cayetanos were very active.
While the defense and private prosecutors were indeed prepared, especially the defense on the third day, the impeachment court found itself burdened by some administrative and logistics issues: TV monitors aside from documents with pertinent markings.
All that allowed the defense to seize the narrative, including the introduction of documents for Calilung to read when these documents had not been presented early enough to the court.
Perhaps, that lack of reading materials also made senator-judge Risa Hontiveros fall into the trap of asking questions whether or not the threat was an impeachable offense, a culpable violation of the 1987 Constitution.
Presiding chair Chiz Escudero censured her twice about that, the first time on the second day. So did the Cayetano siblings, who are both lawyers. She was supposedly cutting corners by hastily making a conclusive question.
Hontiveros' faux pas allowed the defense to issue a statement, untrammeled and unchecked, defending Duterte without a rebuttal.
In a prepared statement, another defense counsel, Mark Vinluan, stressed that the prosecution had “no proof” that she contracted an assassin to kill the President.
“The prosecution admitted that the video does not prove any fact other than its existence. In simple words, there is no proof of any contracting of an assassin,” he said.
“Trying to prove this stretched narrative using a hodgepodge of materials is a waste of this honorable court's time and the Filipino people's money,” he said.
“The truth of the matter is this: She and her family were threatened. And while her response was unconventional, it was justified,” Vinluan said.
The lawyer cited “Operation Romanov,” a supposed plot to eliminate Duterte and her family, which a reporter mentioned during the 2024 livestreamed briefing.
“(The reporter) talked about it, Princess Maui reiterated it, but the NBI gaslighted it,” he said.
Vinluan said Duterte's statement was the “culmination” of the “various threats and harassments” she suffered after the collapse of the UniTeam.
Under siege, Duterte was there, he said, talking not as vice president, but as a mother, a wife seeking to protect her family.
On Day 3, the defense stole the show. The prosecution will have to work harder next time.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of PhilSTAR L!fe, its parent company and affiliates, or its staff.
