MANILA, Philippines — The first witness in Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial was not a political accuser, but a cybercrime agent called to help prosecutors establish the video evidence at the center of the grave threats charge against her.
John Mark Calilung, an agent of the National Bureau of Investigation's Cybercrime Division, took the witness stand on Tuesday, July 7, the second day of the trial proper.
His testimony focused on the NBI's handling and authentication of a video of Duterte's Nov. 23, 2024 online press conference, where allegedly made death threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and then-House speaker Martin Romualdez.
The prosecution used Calilung's testimony to lay the technical foundation for the video evidence. He was asked about his training in digital forensics, the steps he took to preseve and authenticate th evideo, and the documents tied to the request for Meta to preseve the material.
Defense objections slow testimony
The first testimony devolved into a halting, repetitive back-and-forth over procedure and evidence, as prosecutors tried to establish the basis for the video and the defense objecting at every turn.
Duterte's counsel, Carlo Narvasa, questioned why Calilung was being allowed to testify, challenged the documents presented by prosecutors and argued that the witness, whose work is in digital forensics, was not competent to testify on Meta's internal processes.
Narvasa also objected when Calilung mentioned that he had saved the video on a flash drive, compact disc or similar storage device was attached to the affidavit being identified.
The defense panel similarly objected to the prosecution's plan to present clips from Duterte's two-hour press conference, saying the full video should be shown to give the court the complete context.
Senator-judge Chiz Escudero, who is presiding over the impeachment court, overruled most of the defense's interjections to allow the prosecution to continue its examination of the witness as it saw fit.
Escudero argued that the defense, as respondents, would be given its turn to present counterarguments, including the full video, in time.
A technical opening
The first two hours of exchanges on the second day of the trial were mainly on mechanics of evidence, such as who handled the video, how it was preserved, what documents prove that process and how much of the video the court—and the public—should first see.
Calilung's appearance signals the strategy of the prosecution, which had earlier declared that the grave threats charge—the fourth of the four articles of impeachment, but the first to be tackled—is the "easiest to follow" by both the Senate court and trial spectators.
The public had already seen the video in parts or full on the internet and reported by the press, the panel had argued.
Duterte has denied wrongdoing and repeatedly claimed that the impeachment trial is a politically motivated and calculated move against her and her plan to run for president in 2028. — Camille Diola with reports from Cristina Chi