Sara’s trial starts today

CEBU, Philippines — It’s D-Day at the Senate as the upper chamber formally convenes at 2:00 p.m. today (Monday, Jul 6) as an impeachment court to try Vice President Sara Duterte.

House prosecutors yesterday declared they are "100 percent ready" to present their case, calling the high-stakes trial the “first day toward the truth” where political discourse will finally be replaced by hard evidence.

While the public anticipates immediate fireworks, House prosecution spokesperson and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong clarified that today’s opening session would strictly focus on legal formalities and the resolution of pending matters.

“Marami ang umaasang may mga testigo agad bukas [today]. Pero ang unang araw ay nakalaan para sa opening of the trial, opening statements, at pagresolba ng mga legal at procedural issues. Normal iyan sa anumang seryosong paglilitis,” Adiong said yesterday.

The trial will open with opening statements from both sides, after which the Senate impeachment court is expected to rule on four critical motions filed by the House panel.

These include requests to permit both public and private prosecutors to examine witnesses, to formalize the dual use of English and Filipino, and to unseal a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) box containing tax records tied to allegations of unexplained wealth.

Following the resolution of these preliminaries, the prosecution will immediately move to present its witnesses tomorrow, July 7, focusing first on Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment.

This article accuses Duterte of a culpable violation of the Constitution for making grave threats against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez.

The prosecution has already submitted its initial witness list for the first three hearing days, which includes National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Bangsamoro Regional Director Atty. Jeremy Lotoc, NBI Cyber Senior Agent John Mark Calilung and Legislative Security Bureau Executive Director Capt. Belinda Bello.

“Hindi ito paramihan ng tao. Hindi ito paramihan ng ingay. Ang mahalaga ay kung ano ang mapapatunayan sa pamamagitan ng records, mga dokumento at testimonya,” Manila Rep. Joel Chua, a lead prosecutor, said yesterday.

“Ang hinihiling lang namin ay mabigyan ng pagkakataon na mailatag nang maayos ang aming mga ebidensya,” he added.

Apart from them, the House also listed NBI Director Melvin Matibag, Sheriff Abe Andres whom Duterte infamously mauled when she was mayor, journalist Mikhail Flores and former reporter Bonz Magsambol. A family member of a threats victim and a psychiatrist were also listed but not specified. All of them would be testifying on the fourth article of impeachment—grave threats.

House leaders urged the Filipino people to follow the live broadcast of the trial to insulate themselves from fragmented social media narratives and clickbait headlines.

Deputy Speaker Jay Khonghun of Zambales emphasized that the defining question of today’s session is whether the trial will be allowed to progress to the evidentiary stage without being permanently derailed by technicalities.

“Mula nang maisampa ang Articles of Impeachment, maraming usaping legal ang umikot hindi sa ebidensya kundi sa kung dapat pa bang umabot sa ebidensya ang paglilitis. Kaya ang tunay na isyu sa Lunes [today] ay simple: Makakarating ba tayo sa ebidensya?” Khonghun asked.

Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V of La Union echoed the call for firsthand citizenship, noting that an accurate historical record cannot be formed through internet algorithms.

“Panoorin ninyo nang live. Huwag nating ipaubaya sa clickbait, edited videos, o algorithm ang paghubog ng ating opinyon,” Ortega said yesterday.

“Ang pinakamabisang panlaban sa fake news ay hindi argumento. Katotohanan ang panlaban sa fake news. At makikita ang katotohanan kapag pinanood natin mismo ang paglilitis,” he added.

Duterte stands accused of four impeachable offenses, including the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery within the Department of Education and making grave threats against the country’s top officials. (CEBU  NEWS)