“No public official should threaten the life of another human being.”

CAGAYAN DE ORO — The Senate impeachment court concluded the second week of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on July 15 with only one witness being heard, the same as the first week. 

Lawyer Jeremy Lotoc who headed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) team to investigate Sara’s threats took the witness stand on July 13 as the second witness, facing questions on the technicalities, as the defense noted incorrect dates, misspellings, and lack of a signature in the NBI’s affidavit of investigation, among other issues.

Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, convener of the Taumbayan Ayaw sa Magnanakaw at Abusado Network Alliance (Tama Na), urged Filipinos not to lose sight of the moral issue of Sara’s threats amid debates over legal technicalities.

“No public official should threaten the life of another human being. Public office exists to protect life, uphold human dignity, and serve the common good—not to instill fear or violence,” Alminaza said in a statement.

ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio criticized the defense for using technical arguments. “There is a video. There are death threats against President Marcos Jr., Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez. This is not a speech. This is not a political opinion. This is a crime—and it receives no protection under freedom of expression.”

Lotoc said that there were typographical errors on their affidavit of investigation but he stressed that these do not alter the fact that the video exists, the Vice President uttered the statements, and the NBI had findings that Sara committed grave threats and inciting to sedition, the violations contained in Article IV of the articles of impeachment.

He told the Senate impeachment court that the NBI was able to establish that the Vice President uttered the threatening remarks and the intent of the threats given the circumstances where they were uttered, citing the Garma vs. People of the Republic of the Philippines as their legal basis.

Former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said that the defense has a weak case on Article IV which is why it resorted to citing technicalities. 

Given the performance of having one witness for two days, the impeachment trial, as pointed out by Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, may end in almost one and a half years considering the original 102 witnesses from the prosecution and the defense.

Gatchalian made this remark in response to the manifestation of the prosecution on July 14 not to present the other two witnesses, Office of the Vice President (OVP) chief of staff Zulieka Lopez and House of Representatives security officer Capt. Belinda Bello due to redundancy as the testimonies needed to be proved from them are mere corroboration to the November 23, 2024 online press conference where the Vice President talked about contracting an assassin to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez if something happens to her.

On July 15, the prosecution made another manifestation that it would no longer present five other witnesses for the same reasons. The last witness to be presented by the prosecution panel is NBI Dire?ctor Melvin Matibag who is expected to testify on July 21.

For Colmenares, additional testimonies from the NBI will only lengthen the discussion. The issue that the defense should argue, he said, is whether Sara’s threats have reached the level of the betrayal of public trust. (DAA)