Abbey M.

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero had to step in twice on Wednesday, August 12, as private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan and defense counsel Kristine Ferrer traded heated words during the cross-examination of Commission on Audit (COA) witness Xylene del Campo on the 15th day of Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial.

The exchange started when Kapunan asked the court to instruct Ferrer not to stop the witness from answering mid-sentence. Ferrer countered by asking Escudero to instead direct the witness to answer only with "yes" or "no," reminding Kapunan that she would have time to raise clarificatory questions during redirect.

Kapunan pushed back, arguing that not all questions can be answered with a simple yes or no. When Ferrer insisted such questions are allowed even on cross-examination, Kapunan maintained that misleading questions are barred regardless of what stage the examination is in.

As tensions rose, Escudero urged both lawyers to dial down the exchange, describing what he saw as a "generational divide" between the two. "Counsels, please. Let's not allow the generational divide or seeming generational divide to increase tension in the courtroom. Let's keep it a notch lower," he said.

Kapunan responded in jest, saying she was holding herself back from disciplining Ferrer. "Your honor, please. I am preventing myself from giving her a spanking, your honor. That is what I have done in the generational divide," she said, drawing laughter from the court.

Escudero then reminded both lawyers that they are members of the same bar and would be treated equally by the impeachment court, to which both complied. Kapunan promised she would "behave" going forward.

Ferrer, in an attempt to smooth things over, said she held Kapunan in high regard. "I have high respect for Atty. Kapunan. In fact, she is one of my idols," she said. Both Escudero and Kapunan cut her off before she could finish. "Let's end here. It might sound like a eulogy, your honor. I'm still very much alive," Kapunan said.

The cross-examination continued afterward, with Ferrer pressing del Campo on the Protective Intelligence Operations Reports covering the Office of the Vice President's engagements and intelligence activities for the first to third quarters of 2023.

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Senators Raffy Tulfo and Pia Cayetano traded barbs during Tuesday's plenary session, August 11, over the delay in completing the membership of several Senate committees, a standoff Tulfo said was holding pending legislation "hostage."

Tulfo rose on a point of order and blamed the alleged inaction of Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano for the delay in confirming the membership of minority senators to the Committee on Public Services and the Committee on Migrant Workers. 

He said he had coordinated with Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri over the past few weeks to fill the vacancies, but minority senators could not respond due to the alleged inaction of their leader.

Tulfo also took a swipe at Cayetano, who was absent from the session. "If you have time to go FB Live then maybe you have the time to confirm or give the go signal to your minority members," he said.

He added that the vacancies were delaying bills assigned to the panels, including proposed measures on the Department of Water and OFW reintegration.

With her brother absent, Pia Cayetano stood up to respond on his behalf.

 "Senator Tulfo, you could have easily asked me. You know that Alan is my brother if you wanted to get a message across," she said. She also pushed back on Tulfo's characterization of the standoff, saying, "Alam niyo naman kapatid ko si Alan, kung gusto niyo may parating. Huwag na po kayo magdrama ng mga pa hostage hostage." 

[You know my brother Alan, if you want something coursed through, there's a way. Please stop dramatizing this as a hostage situation.]

Tulfo shot back, denying he was being dramatic. "Never po ako nagdrama dito simula nung ako'y naging senador. Never ever po ako nagsinungaling," he said, adding, "Sino ang nagdadrama? Tumingin muna kayo sa salamin bago kayo magsalita." 

[I have never dramatized anything since I became a senator. I have never lied. Who's being dramatic? Look in the mirror first before you speak.]

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian later clarified that 32 Senate committees have yet to convene due to incomplete membership, and assured the chamber that he and the majority leader would coordinate with the minority bloc to complete the outstanding committee assignments.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri also clarified that Alan Peter Cayetano was absent from Tuesday's session because he was not feeling well.

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Vice President Sara Duterte is now facing a criminal case for grave threats after the Department of Justice filed the complaint before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, a development her camp says was expected but insists will not hold up in court.

The charge stems from the vice president's remarks against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, remarks that prosecutors determined met the threshold of prima facie evidence needed to move the case forward.

DOJ Spokesperson Atty. Polo Martinez explained that the decision came after a thorough review of the evidence gathered during the preliminary investigation.

"So, after the preliminary investigation, ang nangyari nakita ng ating mga prosecutors is that there was prima facie evidence with a reasonable certainty of conviction to indict the Vice President for the crime of grave threats, again, by means of cyberspace," Martinez said. 

[So, after the preliminary investigation, what happened is our prosecutors saw that there was prima facie evidence with a reasonable certainty of conviction to indict the Vice President for the crime of grave threats, again, by means of cyberspace.]

For the vice president's camp, however, the filing changes nothing about their confidence in the outcome. Atty. Paul Lawrence Lim, Duterte's counsel, maintained that she remains innocent under the law and is confident the case will eventually be dismissed.

Lim went further, raising what he described as a serious legal question over the timing of the charge. He argued that as an impeachable officer, the vice president cannot be prosecuted for an offense that is also currently the subject of an ongoing impeachment case, a defense that touches on the same allegation now before the Senate impeachment court.

The DOJ, for its part, does not see the two proceedings as connected. Martinez said the criminal case in the Quezon City RTC should move forward on its own, regardless of what happens in the impeachment trial, and that the reverse holds true as well.

With both sides holding firm on their positions, the matter now rests with the Quezon City court, even as the vice president continues to face the same accusation in the impeachment proceedings at the Senate.

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The entire province of Cavite has declared a state of calamity following the severe impact of the southwest monsoon (habagat) and recent typhoons.

Several areas in Cavite were submerged in massive flooding during the height of the heavy rains.

In a post, Cavite Governor Abeng Remulla said the declaration of a state of calamity aims to strengthen the province's response to the assistance and support needed by residents affected by the severe flooding.

Aside from Cavite, the municipality of Mangaldan in Pangasinan has also declared a state of calamity due to the extent of damage brought by the habagat.

Meanwhile, the provincial government of Benguet is finalizing its plan to declare a state of calamity following the damage caused by heavy rains in recent days.

Through these declarations, local government units will have immediate access to their quick response funds to address the needs of affected residents.

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Manila, Philippines  – A state auditor told the impeachment court on Tuesday, August 11 that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) had listed activities funded by its confidential expenses even before the corresponding cash was withdrawn.

A witness for the prosecution panel Xylene Mae del Campo testified during direct examination that the OVP's list of confidential fund activities for 2022 included a gift-giving event in Samar, tree-planting activities in Leyte, and Christmas parties held in Manila and Quezon City, all reportedly conducted between December 13 and 19 of that year.

However, records show the OVP only encashed its 2022 confidential funds on December 20, days after some of the listed activities had already taken place, del Campo told the court.

The prosecution raised the discrepancy during Tuesday's hearing, pointing to it as part of the OVP's March 13, 2024 response to a notice of suspension the Commission on Audit (COA) had issued against the office on December 13, 2023.

Under COA rules, a notice of suspension halts disbursements that auditors find questionable, giving the concerned agency 90 days to submit supporting documents or justification. Failure to do so results in a notice of disallowance, which formally orders the agency to return the funds in question.

Senator-judge and presiding officer Chiz Escudero asked del Campo whether the OVP could have listed the activities ahead of December 20 simply to reimburse itself for expenses it had already incurred using other funds.

Del Campo said this would not be allowed under the joint circular governing confidential and intelligence funds, citing provision 6.1.2 of Joint Circular No. 2015-01, which prohibits the use of confidential funds for reimbursement.

The same circular requires agencies to submit documentation proving the success of the information-gathering or surveillance activities their confidential funds were used for.

COA has since disallowed P73 million out of the OVP's P125 million in confidential funds for 2022.

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