Reps. Diokno, Luistro give updates on VP Sara Duterte impeachment trial — June 11

[0:19] to acknowledge our distinguished guests house lead prosecutor and committee on justice chairperson [0:29] attorney gerbil jinky betrix loistro of batangas and house prosecutor and assistant minority [0:39] leader attorney jose manuel shell jockno opak bayan partalis to deliver the opening statements [0:47] maybe now hear from chairperson loistro followed by prosecutor joc now ma'am you may proceed good [0:57] morning everyone today is a very important day for the country because finally we will be introducing [1:09] the first batch of the private prosecutors who will be assisting the house prosecutors by first [1:17] batch it means that there will be subsequent batches all right so how we were able to come together [1:30] of course we solicited the help of private lawyers who are willing to be with us on this cause on a [1:43] voluntary basis mas kilala satawag na pro bono o para mas maintindihan pa ng ating mga kababayan [1:55] ibig sabihin libre walang bayan no and preparation of witnesses preparation of pleadings and all others [2:57] which will be needed with respect to this impeachment trial no we have seen in the past as well [3:06] as early as early as the estrada impeachment meron nang mga private prosecutors but i want to make it clear [3:17] that the lead and the one in control of the trial will still be the house prosecutors in other words [3:27] among a private prosecutors po na makakasama ng house prosecutors will be assisting prosecutors [3:34] and pursuant to the rules they will remain under the direct control and supervision of the house [3:41] prosecutors we are more confident than before because of the presence of the private prosecutors [3:53] and perhaps it's timely to introduce them now and this will be followed by the succeeding batches [4:03] of the private prosecutors who will be joining the house prosecutors no so that would be all for my [4:12] opening statement thank you ma'am prosecutor [4:18] diok no maganda umaga po sa atin lahat hindi naman po bago yung phenomenon ng mga private [4:29] prosecutors sa impeachment proceedings nung pagpong panahon ng impeachment ni dating pangulong [4:35] joseph estrada ay meron ng mga private prosecutors actually i was one of those who served as a private [4:43] prosecutor during that time pro bono po yun volunteer po tayo at yun ay ginawa po namin yun dahil [4:51] naniniwala kami sa pananagutan and we're very thankful that there are also private prosecutors who [4:59] are providing the same kind of assistance to the public prosecutors today hindi po madali ang trabaho [5:06] ng isang prosecutor maraming kailangan gawin in terms of witnesses in terms of evidence exhibits [5:14] making sure that all the evidence we present is admitted by the court it's not exactly simple or easy [5:23] kaya we really appreciate the help of our private prosecutors as far as the rules are concerned [5:32] claro naman any and all private prosecutors are under the control and supervision of the public [5:39] prosecutors and that will be the role that we will maintain throughout the impeachment proceedings [5:47] thank you good morning thank you sir ma'am you may you may proceed ma'am so we will now be calling the [5:57] private prosecutors who will be joining the house prosecutors let me begin with this lawyers will be [6:05] coming from the big and prominent law firms namely the peca bar kapunan and saligal law firm no there [6:17] will be private lawyers under the said firms whom i will be mentioning as well bagaman wala sila dito [6:25] but the necessary and information about these lawyers will be shared as well through our screen so [6:33] let me start with introducing attorney marport t fuwa he is from peca barlo his educational background of [6:47] course he finished bachelor of laws at sanbena college menjola ab philosophy from de la sal [6:55] university das marinas and he ranked eight in the 2007 bar examinations his background he is currently [7:08] the senior partner and managing partner of peca barlo former assistant presidential legal counsel to [7:16] president ferdinand marcos jr under chief presidential legal counsel juan ponce and really his legal expertise [7:26] he is a seasoned litigator peca bar litigation department from 2008 to present likewise from [7:37] from peca bar who is with us as well is attorney james brian ibrahim a ali his educational background is [7:51] executive program on clinical legal education from vermont law graduate school in 2021 jury's doctor he [8:01] finished in sanbeda university college of law menjola and he was a member of top class for his [8:10] background he is the head litigation unit head of litigation unit publicly listed company prior to [8:18] joining the firm so he was the head he was the senior associate of peca bar or he continues to be the [8:27] senior associate of peca bar up to the present time for his legal expertise he specializes in criminal and [8:34] civil litigation and handles complex cases involving fraud graft and corruption i will be introducing [8:45] the other lawyers from peca bar who are not here today but soon you will be they will be introduced as [8:53] well to the public still from peca bar is attorney erwin g matib he finished he's a jurist doctor and he [9:03] finished the same at university of the philippines college of law 2009 he finished as well bs accountancy [9:12] at saint louis university in 2003 he passed the cpa licensure exam on the same year which means that he is [9:21] a cpa lawyer his background he is a partner in peca bar law 2016 to current head of special projects [9:34] department and head of tax department for his legal expertise he specializes on dispute resolution [9:44] including mediation arbitration and litigation he handles complex criminal cases involving draft and [9:51] corruption bank fraud and white collar offenses finally he advises clients on tax matters and strategic [10:02] legal initiatives also from peca bar to complete the four private lawyers from peca bar attorney justin [10:14] ann l lamarca she is a jurist doctor she finished the same at university of the philippines college of law in [10:22] 2011. prior to that he finished she finished bachelor of arts in political science at ateneo de manila university [10:31] in 2007. for jurist doctor he finished the same in 2011. her background she is currently a partner in peca bar [10:50] law that's from 2020 up to present she is the head of litigation department the head as well of retainer [10:58] her department for legal expertise she specializes in litigation across criminal civil commercial and [11:06] family law disputes so that would be all for now for peca bar the next firm is kapunan and castillo law [11:22] offices and heading them of course from this law firm is attorney lorna pataho kapunan she finished her bachelor of [11:37] laws at university of laws at university of the philippines in 1978 and her pre-law ab political science [11:46] also in up in 1973 for her background she used to be the senior associate of acra law offices until 1986. [12:01] likewise she used to be a senior partner in rocco munyag kapunan migalios peres and luna law offices in 1986 [12:11] and then she became the founder and senior partner of capunan lotelia garcia and castillo law offices [12:18] that's 2009 to 2011 and then became the founder and senior partner of capunan and castillo law offices [12:28] from 2011 to present and more importantly she was once a bar examiner in commercial law that was in 1988. [12:41] in conclusion she has been a practicing lawyer for 48 years already for her legal expertise of course [12:53] she specializes in litigation intellectual property licensing franchising corporate and commercial law [13:01] mergers and acquisitions international humanitarian law criminal law family law and estate law she lectures [13:11] on family law media and the client and code of professional responsibility for m for mcle and finally [13:20] she advocates for women's and children's rights environmental protection di and lgbtq and rights [13:29] joining attorney capunan from capunan and castillo law offices are attorney sonia margarita benemerito [13:41] castillo she finished her bachelor of laws at san beda university for her background she is a co-founder [13:52] and senior partner of capunan and castillo law offices she was the director of intellectual property [14:02] association of the philippines ipop from 2007 to 2013 and finally she worked as court attorney five [14:12] at the office of justice eduardo montenegro of the court of appeals for legal expertise attorney sonia [14:22] specializes on litigation civil law family law and labor law she likewise specializes on intellectual [14:31] property immigration land registration and criminal law likewise from capunan and castillo we have on the [14:42] team as well attorney dina melissa s lorenzo singian for background she's a jurist doctor when she finished [14:53] at ateneo de manila university in 2002 she finished as well her bachelor of arts in interdisciplinary studies [15:04] minor in business and psychology at ateneo de manila university 1998 for her background she's the junior [15:13] partner of capunan and castillo law offices starting from 2007 to present she is the corporate secretary [15:23] and assistant corporate secretary for various companies handled by the firm for legal expertise she [15:30] specializes on litigation arbitration family law estate law corporate law civil law commercial law [15:39] environmental law environmental law and labor law another significant lawyer from capunan and castillo law [15:47] is attorney lino crispy capunan he is a jurist doctor and he finished the same at ateneo de manila school [15:59] of law in 2006 first background he is the managing partner of capunan and castillo law offices board of [16:08] directors licensing executive society of the philippines member of the board of directors he is a member as [16:19] well of intellectual property association of the philippines ipop and licensing executive society of the [16:25] philippines and he continues to be a member of various corporations up to the present for his legal expertise he [16:34] specializes on litigation of civil criminal corporate and intellectual property cases corporation law labor law [16:43] and intellectual property law he's an awardee of corporate litigator of the year philippines by [16:52] apac insider 2020 to complete the lawyers from capunan and castillo for the first batch only [17:02] we have as well in the team attorney bethina n zamora for her educational background she is a [17:09] jurist doctor she finished the same at ateneo de manila school of law in 2009 she finished prior to that [17:20] bachelor of laws in bachelor of arts in diplomacy and international affairs at de la salle university [17:28] college of saint benilde in 2003 she finished as well bachelor of arts in interdisciplinary studies [17:36] de la salle university college of saint benilde in 2001 for her background she is the co-managing [17:43] partner of capunan and castillo law offices and for her legal expertise she specializes on litigation [17:51] across family and estate law civil and criminal law and environmental law and labor law that is all for [18:01] capunan and castillo but only for the first batch finally we have on the team sa legal law and we would [18:12] like to call on attorney amando virgil de ligutan for his educational background he is a jurist doctor [18:25] he finished the same at university of the philippines college of lodileman in 2009 prior to that he finished a [18:34] b philosophy as summa cum laude at university of san carlos cebu city in 2003 he is likewise he was likewise [18:45] a high school valedictorian at sacred heart seminary in palo late in 1999 for his background he is the [18:56] managing partner of legal law sapayan lim alvarez and ligutan law offices in cebu that is from 2024 up to [19:06] present he's a senior lecturer too at up college of law starting from 2020 up to present he's a law [19:16] instructor at university of san jose recoleto school of law from 2011 to present he's a law instructor as [19:24] well at university of cebu school of law 2023 to present he's likewise a junior associate he was a [19:33] junior associate of acra law offices from 2009 to 2010 and he used to be a former a legal counsel of rose [19:44] pharmacy group of companies first legal expertise of course he specialized in teaching labor law [19:52] remedial law and public international law he also specializes on regular legal media comment being a [20:03] commentator and he is a publisher also of philippine law journal 2009 no so for the first batch as i have [20:14] said during the opening statement but definitely there will be succeeding batches whom we will be [20:23] introducing as private prosecutors joining the house prosecutors as well what is important today is to [20:31] express to the public that the private lawyers who are with us with me and congressman shell shares with [20:38] the house the cause of bringing this case to the impeachment trial and until the rendition of judgment [20:51] they believe in the mandate of transparency and accountability they support the mandate of the [20:57] constitution and that is the ultimate and sole reason why they are joining the public prosecutors [21:05] in this impeachment trial thank you thank you uh before we open the floor for media question may we know if [21:15] there is any uh opening remarks from our uh private prosecutors um of course you know who i am uh i'm [21:31] friends with most of you here for controversial cases i think in my 48 years as lawyer this probably is [21:39] uh what we call payback time and uh this is where i think very serious legal issues are concerned because [21:49] they constitute articles of impeachment against a very high official and that is why i've committed my time [21:56] and my law firm's time to to assisting the public prosecutors here in their in their very uh worthwhile [22:07] cause which is the issue of public accountability this has been a crusade since last year when we also [22:17] uh volunteered to help give legal advice to the impeachment team last year so this is a continuation [22:25] of our crusade let me just say here that this is not about this is not about us this is not about us [22:35] public and private prosecutors this is about all of you this is about the country this is about public officials [22:44] being called to task on their accountability to the constitution and ultimately to the people so maraming maraming salama [22:53] to the public prosecutors headed by chair jinky and of course uh uh chair uh congressman shell jockno for [23:03] acknowledging and accepting our offer to help in this very worthwhile uh endeavor it will be difficult [23:13] the coming days will be difficult you in media know that there is a lot of fake news that there is a lot of [23:20] ais going on that there is a lot of falsehood going on and i'm so happy that you are all here because we are [23:28] all seekers of truth there will be those who will distort the truth especially those who have pledged [23:36] alliance to the vice president we call on media to share with the public responsibility that we as private [23:44] prosecutors have assumed to help bring out the truth to help make accountable a public official that deserves [23:55] to be accountable with that i'd like also uh my seatmate here uh my companion since last year attorney [24:05] so legal thank you so much uh attorney lorna i will make this brief uh because attorney capuna [24:16] lord really gave a good introduction as to the role of the public prosecutors personally it is an honor to be [24:25] standing beside legal giants luminaries in the persons of attorney capuna then we have chairwoman jinky [24:33] indivisra and of course uh congressman chel diokno we acknowledge the hard work that this endeavor entails [24:45] it will not be an easy task uh unseating and removing from office the vice president of the republic but it [24:53] is a task that we do not take lightly we know this is a solemn obligation that we have to the filipino [25:02] people to exact accountability even from the highest of officials of the land what really motivated me [25:12] from joining the private private prosecution team is the story of a school principal that is ordered to [25:23] be imprisoned for 11 years for pocketing 5 000 pesos 11 years for packing 5 000 pesos for a school principal [25:35] what signal would it give to our children what signal would give to generations of filipinos that will [25:41] follow if we can send to jail somebody for pocketing 5 000 pesos for 11 years why can't we remove from [25:50] office the sitting vice president for misusing millions of pesos of public funds we are here because we are [26:02] advocates of the rule of law we believe that the law must be applied equally with force to everyone [26:12] no matter how high your stature is in society having a famous family name should not give you a free pass [26:21] you should be held accountable as with any other filipino out there that's all good morning everyone for [26:34] pekabar group no for pekabar law we are here uh basically to uh to support the uh costs and to assist the [26:43] public prosecutors um and of course uh as vanguards of uh a constitution we see to it that the constitutional [26:54] process as mandated in the constitution is followed through the letter so basically uh that's the role of [27:02] the firm here right now and also to assist uh the public prosecutors during trial because as you know [27:08] they are not uh it's been uh except for uh dean jock no it's been a while uh since they litigated so [27:15] they need to be refreshed no of of uh the the current rules of of uh procedures etc so we are here to see [27:24] to it that uh they get so they get the necessary support and of course to help them uh uh the cost [27:32] no and to exact accountability as well that's it good morning attorney ali good morning everyone so uh [27:50] the business of impeachment um and accountability of public officers a serious one we are very very happy [27:56] to serve or to contribute in any manner uh to the public prosecutors uh and we will see to it that we are [28:03] at their disposal and um whatever it is that they need uh we are here to provide and assist in order to [28:11] prosecute properly uh this case thank you thank you private prosecutors we will begin [28:19] with the questions from bibian gulli of abscbn good morning ma'am um conjurville you have so far named [28:31] 10 uh private prosecutors ilan pa po yung tinitingnan natin na masasama dito sa listahan ng private [28:38] prosecutors and um have we entered their appearance before the senate impeachment court they keep on [28:45] coming i cannot express the exact figure kung ilan pa ang ilalabas natin or introduce in the succeeding [28:58] batches because indeed we are overwhelmed by the support that is coming from the private practitioners [29:06] and as a matter of fact i wish to take advantage also of this opportunity upang pasalamatan [29:12] ang mga private lawyers yung pagtindig nila along with the house of representatives that is for us a [29:20] validation that we are in the right position of the philippine history no so to answer your question [29:32] definitely but i cannot express the exact figure they will be filing their entry of appearance at [29:40] least what i am certain is for this 10 they will be filing their entry of appearance on monday that is [29:49] simultaneously the deadline for the filing of pre-trial brief no muli maraming salamat po sa lahat [29:56] na mga private lawyers for standing with the house of representatives pro bono po sila voluntary po ang [30:04] pagtindig nila kasama ang house of representatives because they believe in the mandate of the constitution [30:12] for accountability man may we also get an update on the pre-trial brief due on monday um completo na po ba [30:21] tapos na consolidation ilan po yung witnesses final list of witnesses that you're looking at we cannot [30:30] discuss in detail the contents of our pre-trial brief but what i am certain the number of witnesses is still [30:39] approximately 25 and we have listed also all our documents to be submitted and mark we are done also [30:49] listing our stipulations for admissions no siguro intayin na lang natin yung filing ng house prosecution [30:58] with the private prosecutors on monday of this pre-trial brief last na lang po um sa mga gusto pong sumagot [31:07] um senate uh acting senate president gachalian said 16 votes um are still needed to convict uh the [31:15] vice president despite the supreme court ruling and dalawa pong uh senator na outside the coercive [31:23] powers of the senate do you share that sentiment well um this is subject to debate i believe no because [31:36] our law is evolving and as a matter of fact even the interpretation as to what constitute quorum [31:45] is evolving already no so the list i can say as to the number of senators required to convict [31:55] the vice president it is necessary to interpret what representation of filipino people constitute no we [32:06] understand that the house of representatives are here to represent the people in the same way in a [32:51] different manner applying the jurisprudence on abelino versus cuenco which was supplemented by [33:00] retired justice carpio with the case of uh trillanes versus pimentel along the same line no perhaps [33:11] i believe that the the rule the law is evolving in the same way that this must be interpreted [33:19] to serve better the mandate of our constitution thank you thank you bbn we will take a question now from [33:32] billy vegas of abante politico hihingi lang po nang comment kasi po binubuhay na naman po yung [33:42] narrative na ang inuuno na naman ang house ay yung impeachment imbis na yung tulungan yung mga [33:48] biktima ng lindol kahit na nasa gitna na kami ng paghahanda sa impeachment trial hindi nalalayo sa aming [34:00] kaisipan at kalaoban ang mga nangyari at mga nasa lanta ng lindol sa mindanao actually nung palang [34:09] nangyari yun nagsama-sama na yung mga miyembro ng house we have already begun a donation and relief [34:17] efforts and there have been over a hundred members of the house who have already pledged support some of [34:24] them even their own personal resources to help the victims of the earthquake disaster under the [34:32] leadership of speaker boji d nagsasama-sama po ang mga miyembro ng house of representatives [34:39] ang impeachment ay isang tungkulin namin sa ilalim ng konstitusyon pero yung tulungan natin ang mga [34:47] na nasa lanta nitong lindol ay isang humanitarian duty at duty din namin ito bilang mamamayan pilipino [34:56] hindi namin kinakalimutan yun that is also at the forefront of our minds and our hearts and we [35:03] are doing everything we can to make sure that those efforts will reach the affected families [35:11] and communities um that we have um aside from yunabanggit ko that over a hundred members have [35:21] already contributed to the relief drive um that is on top of the individual efforts being done by many [35:28] of our house members to extend assistance through their own districts local government partners and [35:35] constituents constituents at yun na nga tulad ng nasabi ko kanina there have also been pledges from many [35:41] members of the house using their own personal resources to help our brothers and sisters in mindanao [35:50] tuloy-tuloy po yung aming paglilingkod while we are in the middle of preparing for this um constitutional [35:58] trial we are also not forgetting our duties to legislate and of course our duties to provide [36:05] as much assistance and support as we can to those who were affected by the earthquake thank you thank [36:16] you billy tina panganibang peres of jma7 good morning po um attorney kapunan mentioned earlier that the [36:27] coming days will be difficult and that there will be a lot of fake news for the private prosecutors are you [36:35] um prepared uh to be the subject or the target of such disinformation in the coming days are you [36:47] addressing this to us uh to all the private prosecutors uh i eat media for breakfast lunch and [36:55] dinner so this is not new uh i've worked with many of you uh and um some of my cases have been [37:04] controversial but the common denominator of all the cases i have handled is a moral certainty it's a [37:11] certainty that uh we we are for the truth we are for the rule of law and and so if if that if that is [37:22] the guide if our conscience is personally speaking i go to this impeachment trial with a clear conscience [37:30] it does not matter if we are hit personally uh for all the the wrong or right things i've done in the [37:37] past what matters here is that we are we are useful that we will be useful in in supporting or aiding our [37:48] public prosecutors in presenting a strong fair and uh evidence-based case so uh the direct answer to your [38:00] question uh mom is bring it on for the other private prosecutors so uh the hit that we will encounter and [38:15] or experience that is expected but it's nothing compared to the honor that this obligation that we are [38:25] fulfilling the order that it brings wala po yan yung magiging pambapastos yung fake news yung mga memes [38:35] that will be created attacking us wala po yan kumpara sa karangalan na mapabilang sa mga private prosecutors [38:46] na mag pro prosecute ng mga articles of impeachment against device the president sabi nga ni chair jinky [38:55] knowing that we are in the right side of history makes all of the hardship all of the difficulties [39:04] all of the fake news worded it's nothing compared to the honor of making sure that those that must be [39:13] held accountable should be held accountable no matter no matter the case that you are the vice president [39:21] other republic of the philippines for uh pekabar law no um pekabar is not that maybe just sabi really [39:32] no so to us this is just like any other legal work that we have handled and we are handling [39:38] so uh it's nothing personal no um we are given a job we're given a objective so we'll just fulfill our [39:47] our objective in this in this case like any other case that we have handled and we are handling for other [39:53] clients so that's it was that also for attorney ali sir um uh for for the public and the private [40:09] prosecutors young senate website paul was hacked this morning and a few days ago the nbi revealed [40:17] a threat against the senate building and the um the surrounding areas so um is this a concern [40:26] uh in connection with the impeachment trial you know it's hard to speculate no if this is connected [40:38] to the impeachment trial but what is clear we have a schedule already for our first pre-trial conference [40:47] on june 18 and that will be this coming thursday so i wish to express my concern about the security and [40:55] safety of those who will be joining the filing of pre-trial brief on monday and those who will be [41:04] joining the the conduct of the pre-trial conference on thursday as well as all the senators even the [41:11] defense team and the officials and employees of the senate for staying in the premises no and let me take [41:19] advantage of this opportunity upang manawagan sa ating law enforcement agencies that includes of course the [41:26] investigative bodies like the nbi the doj the pnp no atin pong tingnan ito let us look into this and make [41:37] sure na ligtas safe and secured ang premises ng senate if this is connected to the impeachment trial then we have [41:47] more reason to make sure that this will be addressed because this is a very significant process this is a [41:55] constitutional process that concerns the interest of every pilipino across the world no so whether [42:05] connected or not sana ay tutukan po ito ng ating mga katuwang sa paglilingkod mula sa law enforcement agencies [42:16] ma'am um is the house of representatives beefing up security for the public and the private prosecutors and [42:24] what about the witnesses and the evidence well the leadership actually initiated the [42:32] communication already about providing the necessary security to all the prosecutors [42:40] considering the report of the nbi the hacking of the senate official website no and of course apart [42:50] from this we express all likewise our concern in securing as well our witnesses and the evidence to [42:58] be presented and there are ongoing communications already in order to address that communication between [43:07] the house and the house of course it's the leadership who can help us remember that the both the private [43:14] and the public prosecutors will be appearing before the impeachment court to represent the institution [43:21] and the people whom we serve no at syempre ang institution ang katuwang natin to make sure that we will all [43:28] be safe as we continue to to participate in the impeachment process not only the prosecutors but also the [43:36] evidence and the witnesses which we will be presenting during the trial [43:40] ma meron bang parang safe house for the witnesses or meron bang vault or storage for the evidence and [43:48] meron bang house security na naka-assign na magbantay sa mga ito if i answer that i have to kill you [43:56] we cannot divulge it we cannot divulge it we cannot divulge but it's a real concern as practicing lawyers [44:04] uh maalala natin nung nung height ng nung prosecution ng drug war sa quezon city nasunog ang quezon city [44:15] uh city hall no nagkakaroon ng election protest sa comelec nasunog ang comelec so and uh we surmise that [44:24] this may have to do with documents and so uh we we echo the concern of our uh head public prosecutor [44:35] mom jinky that there should be there should be measures to take our documents because in the [44:42] transmit lahat speaking from from a from an evidence point of view we have to safeguard our evidence [44:51] because the evidence from the house has been transmitted already most of our documentary [44:57] evidence has been transmitted to the senate and in the pre-trial that will happen where the pre-trial [45:05] order says there will be pre-marking of documentary exhibits we have a room full of documentary exhibits [45:13] literally and figuratively we hope well we trust that the senate will provide protection not only [45:21] especially for our people but as well for the evidence in the impeachment in the impeachment case [45:28] the other thing is uh i guess we are watch media is watching the courtroom the impeachment courtroom battle [45:38] but i think media should also be sensitive as our as chairman louis true said to the courtroom outside [45:45] because the there have been many civil society groups that have launched uh a senate watch there will also be a [45:54] people's impeachment court uh maybe maybe media should also listen to what is happening outside because if [46:04] there is any trouble sabi nga nila baka may dumating na armed men or baka may kudeta but this is all [46:12] speculation what's important is uh we are all vigilant media coming as a prosecution and civil society [46:24] thank you thank you paul thank you tina we will now recognize uh lance mexico of newswatch hello good afternoon [46:42] to the private prosecutors as we all know po no there are four articles of impeachment merong about [46:48] confidential funds fund misuse alleged confidential fund misuse unexplained wealth bribery and the threats to [46:55] the president i think uh i've been asked that question uh ilang beses na tsaka yung sagot is [47:12] derecho yung pinaka malakas tsaka yung pinaka malubha nakasalanan ng vice president yun yung pagtatangka [47:21] sa buhay ng ating pangulo sa kanyang kabiyak yung first lady tsaka yung former speaker of the house [47:29] hindi po normal sa isang civilized na bansa gaya ng pilipinas na yung isang vice presidente [47:40] iaanunsyo sa publiko that she already contracted an assassin to kill no less than the president the first [47:51] lady and the former vice lady and the former speaker of the house kung yung ginawa ng vice [47:58] president ay nangyari sa isang sa ibang bansa matagal na pong napatalsik sa posisyon yung vice [48:06] president let's ask the public let's ask the media okay is it normal to do that so uh personally [48:16] that is my take as to ano yung pinaka ano yung pinaka malakas yun yung pagbabanta sa buhay ng no [48:25] less than the highest official the highest officials of the land how about the others [48:32] po lahat amen that question actually goes to the merit of the case but uh there's a presumption of [48:51] regularity so i think all articles have potentials based on our review for conviction thank you [49:04] lans eden santos from net 25 is now recognized and then hello po yan uh kung ano po ang reaksyon na do [49:25] sa possibility na baka si senator escudero ang italagang magpreside po ng impeachment trial [49:33] uh yan nag-iisa sa pinag-uusapan po sa gachelian black whether it is acting sp win gachelian or [49:45] senator cheese escudero who will be presiding the impeachment trial in behalf of the prosecutors we [49:52] are expressing our faith and confidence to this accountability mechanism no and besides [50:00] ito namang impeachment trial nato this is not a question of who is the presiding officer who are [50:06] the senator judges who are the public and the private prosecutors no by impeachment trial we're [50:14] trying to exact accountability to the public officials this is a response to the constitution's [50:22] call which says that public office is a public trust and that public officials must be accountable to [50:30] the people at all times i wish to add itong gagawin na to na mga prosecutors this does not [50:38] this is not about acquittal or conviction more than that this is about enforcing and preserving [50:48] accountability mechanism which is innate in a democratic country like ours [50:52] so okay lang po if in case na si senator scudero to complete my statement whether it is former sp alan [51:02] or acting sp win or the one which you mentioned senator cheese we express our faith and confidence to [51:14] accountability mechanism so yung pong nakaraang impeachment is sya kasi yung sinasabi na nag kaya hindi po [51:21] natuloy dahil sa kanyang decision or interpretation dun sa fortuit nonetheless the circumstances surrounding [51:29] the first impeachment back in 19 congress is entirely different in the circumstances surrounding the [51:35] second impeachment no so if indeed senator cheese scudero to will be designated as the presiding officer [51:44] let us not judge him on the basis of what happened to the first impeachment back in 19 congress [51:50] yes thank you thank you thank you eden next is rosalie cas of you and timmy after [52:01] nun po ma'am censors um para lang po sa kaalaman din po ng public ano po ang pinakamahalagang [52:08] magiging contribution ng private prosecutors dito po sa impeachment trial ni vp tuterte at [52:13] bakit kailangan ng private prosecutors kailangan din po ba meron pong lead private prosecutor meron [52:20] po bang ganong mechanism let me answer the as we said no uh today there are three law firms here my law firm [52:37] kapuna ng castillo saligal and pekabar and there will be many other other law firms and lawyers joining we are a [52:46] supportive role uh we are here kagayan ng mga kaso uh we are here under the control and supervision [53:01] of the public prosecutors so uh ang role po namin i assist ang role po namin i to uh give recent jurisprudence [53:13] on because we are all on because we are all practicing lawyers recent jurisprudence on what is [53:19] material the rules and evidence the rules of court updating the public prosecutors on recent jurisprudence [53:27] in the supreme court so ang lahat po kami lead dito lead private prosecutors for coming lahat [53:37] in the sense that we will all be leading ourselves into supporting whatever the public prosecutor needs [53:47] prosecutors need or whatever we feel is useful and necessary for a full fair and [53:58] strong presentation of evidence so sa sagot nyo po eh supporting cast lang po kami wala po kaming ah [54:08] wala po kaming billing issue dito ah sino ang bida dito ang bida po dito ay ang taong bayan supporting [54:18] cast lang po ang private prosecutors of course ang public prosecutors yung po yung po ang ano yun po ang [54:26] kami wala kaming talent fee eh so support lang kami but it is the public prosecutors really that will be [54:35] leading this and uh that's all i can say so sabi nyo nga po supporting characters pero [54:46] are you eyeing to cross-examine the vice president if if that is the role that the public prosecutors [54:53] uh will assign to us uh will assign to us yes but i think the public prosecutors are in our view all [55:01] competent all competent to cross-examine the vice president if and when she appears that is the big [55:12] question mark kai kong jirvil po kasi nagsalita rin po si vp duterte about sa impeachment trial [55:24] kahapon in an interview at sinabi niya na ipinauubaya niya na po sa mga abogado niya yun pong [55:29] preparation para sa impeachment trial at linaro niya na yung mga abogado niya gawin daw pong ginusto niya po na [55:37] maliit lang yung kanyang team pagdating po dito sa impeachment trial so since ang marami nga po [55:45] gusto mag volunteer overwhelming yung numbers so more confident po kayo sa conviction in terms po nung [55:52] mga tutulong we are confident about the private prosecutors who are helping us no kasi kilala silang [56:03] magagaling na abogado kung tawagin natin mga abogado de campanilla and we are really grateful na [56:14] because of their prominence and nakaka uplift ng confidence from our part of course we have to [56:21] acknowledge na kahit po abogado yung labing isang prosecutors except for conchelle joc no because [56:28] talagang seasoned practitioner din ito but for the remaining 10 prosecutors medyo napahinto kami [56:35] ng practice since we embark in public service and definitely kailangan po namin ang tulong ng mga [56:42] private prosecutors because they are the people specialized in litigation no at perhaps recipes [56:51] sa locator na to alam nyo naman kung gaano kalalaki itong law firm na ito the peka bar the kapunan and [56:58] even sa legal no and because of their presence and support that they are extending to us indeed talagang [57:05] na boost ang confidence ng 11 prosecutors because of this support no and not only that not only the private [57:14] prosecutors we are confident as well because of the strong evidence that we have but to your [57:21] question kung confident ako to secure conviction it is premature to comment to that we have not seen [57:29] as a matter of fact the evidence of the vice president you will remember yung sagot niya sa justice [57:36] committee committee almost the same and it evolved on constitutional and procedural and technical issues [57:46] no they did not directly respond to the allegations of offenses under which were anchored in the [57:54] impeachable grounds so it is premature to say that the evidence of the prosecution is enough to secure [58:01] conviction until and unless we have seen the evidence of the respondent thank you uh rose our next question [58:20] will come from linesca panti of jma online good afternoon good afternoon po uh on a long posundutin ko lang [58:31] about the weight of the evidence what if the what happens if the vice president refuses to recognize the [58:40] issue once of pretrial order because i understand the signatory there is uh senator sherwin gatchal yan may [58:48] what if she decides not to honor it by citing the current leaders senate leadership issues [58:57] should the senate impeachment court po consider that as a waiver of her right to present evidence [59:07] we are all eagerly anticipating the moves that the vice president will take in so far as the order [59:26] for pre-trial conference is concerned malalaman po natin yan within the next few days [59:31] is kung ano yung magiging pagtrato niya sa order na in issue ng ating presiding officer um we it's very hard [59:42] to put ourselves in the minds of the vice president and her lawyers so i'd rather not um try to do that [59:50] perhaps we let's just wait for them to make their move and then we can respond accordingly sir uh follow up [1:00:01] lang po about yung binanggit po ni chair uh louis trocanina about the senate the the senate and the rules [1:00:10] should evolve to reflect the uh is evolving and should reflect uh proper representation uh based on [1:00:19] existing jurisprudence po ba meron po bang batas or jurisprudence allowing the senate impeachment [1:00:27] court to revise their rules and change the threshold needed for conviction i'm just curious kung if they [1:00:37] are allowed to to change it the 16 well in so far as the number yung two-thirds requirement yun ay hindi [1:00:51] mababago yun dahil nasa constitution yan other rules of procedure are within the power of the senate to [1:00:59] amend or revise yung isa na lang siguro magiging issue and really this is not um well settled by [1:01:07] jurisprudence is how do you count the two-thirds yung ganun it's very similar to yung question tungkol sa [1:01:16] quorum kung dati ang pananaw ng karamihan ay dapat 13 akin laro na yan ng ating supreme court that it could be [1:01:28] less than 13 depending on how many senators are within the coercive reach of the senate now whether [1:01:36] that will also apply to the impeachment court ay hindi pa yan nasa settle ng jurisprudence so hindi rin [1:01:46] natin alam kung paano ang magiging pagpapasya ng supreme court kung sakasakaling umabot doon itong issue [1:01:56] i wish to add no alalahanin natin the reason why the house of representatives is here why the senate is [1:02:05] there isa lang ang dahilan that is to represent the interest of the filipino people doon sa usapin [1:02:15] ng change of leadership narinig natin yung term na within the coercive means of the senate and if we are [1:02:24] beyond the coercive means the question is do you think that the senators are in the proper position [1:02:31] to say that they are representing the interest of the filipino people i wish to anchor my interpretation [1:02:39] on the required number for conviction on that line kung makaka-attend kung makakaparticipate kung makakaboto [1:02:51] then you are representing the interest of the filipino people but if you are beyond the coercive means [1:02:58] and as a matter of fact hindi ka nga nag-attend hindi ka nga bumoto why will you be considered for the [1:03:06] purpose of determining the number of required votes for the purpose of conviction well this is just my [1:03:15] personal opinion i just want to remind the public about the reason why we have senators and the reason [1:03:23] is to represent the interest of the filipino people this impeachment trial is one of the [1:03:31] instances when the representation of the interest of the filipino is very much needed so kung hindi [1:03:40] mag-attend ng trial hindi mag-attend ng botohan how can we say that they truly are representing the [1:03:49] interest of the filipino people and in which case it should be considered for the purpose of interpreting [1:03:57] after all if i will be very much literal what the constitution provides is two-thirds of all the [1:04:08] senators it used all it did not use 24 so it is important to hear as well what the supreme court will [1:04:19] say about this thank you thank you that's all on my part thank you linesca let's hear from gab lalu of [1:04:35] philippine daily inquirer gab hello po two questions po first natanong ko na rin po to k [1:04:43] luistro kahapon do you agree dun sa sinasabi ni congressman zia jong yung spokesperson po ng [1:04:49] prosecution team na mukhang wala pong evidence csvp sarah wala siyang dependsang namamount kasi yung [1:04:56] strategy niya is towards dismissal siguro po sa private prosecutors po natin i think yung tinong mo is [1:05:07] evident sa sagot ng vice president mismo kasi napakakapal ng sagot pero ang ang nagpakapal nun ay anexcess anu yung anexes [1:05:24] Annexes. Annexes na hindi bago. Annexes ng final niya sa Supreme Court. Annex na final niya sa House Committee on Justice. Puro annexes. Pag tinignan natin yung kanyang answer, eh wala namang allegation, wala namang statement kung ano yung iprepresentan nila. [1:05:49] On all the articles, they did not state, they did not deny. General denials lang pero hindi nila sinabi, deny-deny namin to kasi ito ang ebidensya namin. Ganun dapat ang sagot sa answer. [1:06:03] All four articles of impeachment, eh wala pong sinabi kung bakit dini-deny niya ang culpable violation of the Constitution, ang grave threats, ang bribery, an unexplained wealth, ang betrayal of public trust. [1:06:22] Wala siyang sinagot doon. Walang sinabing we have witnesses to show. Or this is our evidence. Wala. Quynestion na naman niya. Inulit na naman niya. Jurisdiction, one-year ban, one-year ban, due process. [1:06:38] At saka partial daw ang House Committee on Justice, nag mini-trial, abusive daw ng coercive power sa subpina, at gumawa pa ng sariling ebidensya ang House Committee on Justice beyond the impeachment complaints. [1:06:57] Ngayon, sa tanong mo, tama ba ang sinabi ng spokesperson ng House? Ang sagot, eh oo. Kung meron kang ebidensya, ba't katakot na sagutin sa answer? [1:07:12] I would have thought that the Vice President was more courageous and more transparent since sinabi ng kanyang mga spokesperson at defense team na ready-ready na sila. [1:07:24] At maalala natin, ang sinabi niya noon, to quote a previous, maybe long-time statement, eh meron daw bloodbath na mangyayari. [1:07:37] Eh saan ang bloodbath na yun? Nakikita ko, personally, bubble bath yan, hindi bloodbath. [1:07:45] Sige pa, sir. Yeah. Well, it's hard to second-guess the defense of, it's hard to second-guess the intention of the defense. [1:08:06] But that is their position. So, for us, no. We will just, because the burden of evidence right now is with the prosecution, [1:08:15] so we just have to establish our case, regardless of their defense. [1:08:19] Whether it's pure denial or legal, whatever it is. [1:08:23] So, we just concentrate on how to establish our cause of action, as indicated in the articles of impeachment. [1:08:31] Regarding my second question po, kanina po kasi nabanggit yung possible, na ngayon na nag-publicize na kung sino yung mga private prosecutor, [1:08:43] possible yung mga personal attacks. I'm just anticipating. [1:08:46] Hindi po kaya magagamit yung background ng iba po sa inyo against yung processes o yung pag-participate nyo sa impeachment, sa prosecution team. [1:08:58] Kasi, if I'm not mistaken po, parang dalawa po sa mga private prosecutors na nandito ay may background as assistant presidential legal counsel ni President Marcos. [1:09:10] Baka po kasi sabihin na naman may politikang info. Baka gusto nyo pong i-clarify yung position nyo doon. [1:09:17] Well, we cannot really hide our identity because Pekabar, really, since the time of President Marcos Sr., is closely associated really with the Marcoses. [1:09:32] But this, it is the House who enlisted our support, not the President, or not anyone of the first family. [1:09:39] So, I mean, we cannot hide our identity, unfortunately. [1:09:47] But as you can see, me and Dean Chokno are previously, we are adversaries in court. [1:09:54] But now, we are here together with a common cause. [1:09:58] So, as I've said, this is just any other regular case handled by the firm. [1:10:03] It's nothing special. [1:10:05] So, it is just a purely professional engagement. [1:10:11] May I also correct? [1:10:12] No, siguro nakita nyo, naka-flash the screen that I was like Pekabar. [1:10:19] No, I was assistant to the President. [1:10:23] No, mali po yan. [1:10:24] I never worked with Malacanang, never had the opportunity. [1:10:30] So, typo error lang po. [1:10:32] Ang assistant po ay ang Pekabar. [1:10:36] But I echo, no. [1:10:37] Pekabar here. [1:10:38] I've worked closely with Pekabar. [1:10:41] Kasi, ayaw natin sabihin, sinasabi ng part of the disinformation is that this is a Malacanang Senate. [1:10:52] Baka sabihin rin nila is this is a Malacanang prosecutors, public and private. [1:10:59] Kasi, nakalagay dyan sa bio data ng Pekabar. [1:11:02] I have worked with Pekabar. [1:11:04] And I can speak for the private prosecutors and for my lawyers. [1:11:10] We do not receive instructions from anyone. [1:11:15] Whether from the House, whether from the Senate, whether from Malacanang. [1:11:21] We do not receive instructions. [1:11:23] We are here. [1:11:24] We give our professional help. [1:11:27] We do our own personal judgments as to political issues and our own separate political beliefs. [1:11:34] Iba po yun. [1:11:35] Yung mga background po namin, iba rin po yun. [1:11:41] So, sasabihin nila na Malacanang, ang private prosecutors, ay mag-isip-isip sila. [1:11:48] Magaling rin kami mag-file ng cyber-livel complaint. [1:11:52] Kagaya ng public prosecutors. [1:11:54] So, on the part of our firm, we are vouching on the credibility, the professionalism, and, most importantly, yung independence ng ating mga kasamahan from Pekabar. [1:12:08] Whatever their past political affiliation, they have nothing to do on the task at hand. [1:12:15] Napaka-independent, napaka-credible, napaka-professional, and more than anything, napaka-competent po ng ating mga abogado from Pekabar. [1:12:24] Again, it is an honor to stand beside them in this legal battle. [1:12:32] We've heard already the statement of our private prosecutors. [1:12:35] As a matter of fact, they are detaching themselves from anyone. [1:12:39] This is their independent decision to help the public prosecutors. [1:12:45] At gusto ko rin ipa-unawa sa inyo. [1:12:49] By becoming a prosecutor, we are maintaining a stand. [1:12:53] And that is to prosecute the vice president, which will lead, in the absence of their evidence, to a possible conviction. [1:13:02] But this position does not necessarily mean that we are associated with any group, most especially Malacanang. [1:13:10] We want to make it clear, ang pagpili po ng private prosecutors is exclusive decision ng 11 house prosecutors. [1:13:24] It is us who decide kung sino ang tutulong sa amin na private prosecutors. [1:13:30] And as they have said, we are not receiving instruction from anyone. [1:13:36] Thank you, Bob. [1:13:39] Thank you, Gab. [1:13:40] Milky Regunan from DCRH is next. [1:13:48] Good afternoon. [1:13:49] Sir, based dun sa first batch ng listahan na binanggit ni Chair Luistro, [1:13:56] ang sabi niya nga ay masasabi ito na mga decampanilya. [1:13:59] Pero based on the composition now in the Senate, papaano po ba ito, tingin ninyo, as a private prosecutors, [1:14:07] more on the evidence or more on sa kampihan, pro or anti the vice president? [1:14:13] The only way to answer that is, and the only correct way to answer is, it is always on the basis of evidence. [1:14:27] Yung impeachment, correct, isa itong hybrid, sabi niya, sui generis, is political, legal process. [1:14:37] Pero as an impeachment court and as lawyers here, alam namin, isang bagay lang yung dapat tingnan, [1:14:45] ng isang pusgado, ng isang judge, ng isang senator judge, yun lang yung ebidensya. [1:14:51] Kung malakas yung ebidensya, that should lead to the removal of the vice president. [1:14:56] Kung mahina, that should lead to her acquittal. [1:14:59] Evidence, evidence, evidence, yun lang. [1:15:05] To your question also, ma'am, will it be decided on the basis of evidence or on political affiliation? [1:15:16] I would like to believe that when the senator judges took their oath of impartiality, [1:15:22] and also when the Senate rule says that the Senate impeachment court judges must be politically neutral, [1:15:33] I would like to rely on a presumption of good faith. [1:15:39] Naniniwala po ko sa lahat ng senator judges that they will be true to their oath of political neutrality and impartial justice. [1:15:51] Pag nagkamali naman ako sa paniwalang yan, e taong bayan na magdi-decide. [1:15:58] Because this will be judged not only in the Senate impeachment court, but in the court of public opinion. [1:16:08] So if I am mistaken in my good faith reliance, then let the people decide. [1:16:13] But to your question, naniniwala po ako na mananalo kami based on the evidence. [1:16:23] Maging 16 votes yan, 12 votes yan, 24 votes yan, or 22 votes yan. [1:16:30] Conviction ang lalabas dyan. [1:16:35] Thank you, ma'am. [1:16:36] Samantalin ko lang, ma'am, for Congresswoman's Reveal, Luistro. [1:16:40] Luabas po kasi si Kongchel, nabanggit niya kanina based on the question of Billy Vegas doon sa paghahanda po sa tagpagtulong sa mga biktima po ng lindol. [1:16:52] Nabanggit po kanina ni Kongchel na meron daw pong 100 congressmen ang tumutulong po sa pagbigay po ng ayuda. [1:16:59] Pwede pong malaman kung magkano na po ang nalilikom ng House of Representatives. [1:17:04] I am not very much certain about the accumulated amount already, but Kongchel is here. [1:17:12] If you would like to raise that question to him, no? [1:17:17] What I am certain the 11 prosecutors are part of this intention to help the victims of the earthquake in Mindanao. [1:17:27] Kongchel, ulitin ko lang yung question ko. Nabanggit niyo po kanina sa question po ni Billy na meron pong nalilikom na rin ang more than 100 congressmen para po sa pagtulong sa mga biktima ng lindol sa Mindanao. [1:17:44] Meron na po bang kung magkano po ang halaga dito po sa House of Representatives? [1:17:48] Hindi ko po kabisado yung halaga, pero I can report to you kung ilan ng mga members of the House who have pledged support, hanapin ko lang po sa aking phone. [1:18:04] Ayan, so far 139 lawmakers, a total of 9.29 million. [1:18:12] At kasama po doon ang mga public prosecutors na humaharap sa inyo at mga kasamahan pa namin who are not here this morning. [1:18:20] At only shows na hindi po nakakaligtaan sa kabila ng aming tough preparation for the impeachment trial. [1:18:32] Hindi po nakakalimot ang 11 prosecutors, most especially, sa kanila pong tungkulin para sa ating mga kababayan, most especially, our beloved countrymen na biktima ng lindol sa Mindanao. [1:18:45] Maraming salamat po. [1:18:50] Thank you. [1:18:52] Marianne Enriquez of TB5. [1:18:55] Hi. Grafinod po. [1:18:57] Um, may we know lang po sana if you can share some of your meetings. [1:19:03] Madalas po namin kayo nakikita dito sa People Center. [1:19:07] Kamusta po ba? Have you conducted mock trial? [1:19:09] Maybe you can share some experiences dito po sa paghahanda natin. [1:19:13] Some details. [1:19:14] We are not supposed to discuss in detail the preparation that the prosecution team is having, no? [1:19:22] But I believe I have shared with you already na yes, nagmamak kami. [1:19:27] We do meetings, we do big mock and small mock, but that's the least we can say. [1:19:35] Sa mga private prosecutors po, have you encountered any of the lawyers, the defense team ni BP, Sarah Fortuna Narvaza and Salazar Law? [1:19:46] Kamusta po sila, any you wanna share about them and ano po masasabi niyo sa kanila? [1:19:53] For Pekabar, we've been, the firm has been in practice for more than 40 years. [1:19:58] So, definitely, we've crossed paths. [1:20:02] So, we have utmost respect to them. [1:20:05] And I would assume they also have utmost respect towards us, not only in Pekabar, but also the other private prosecutors. [1:20:13] So, we have nothing against them. [1:20:14] We understand what they do. [1:20:16] And I hope that they also understand what we do as private prosecutors. [1:20:20] We are a brethren of the profession. [1:20:23] So, as I've said, this is just purely professional engagement, nothing personal. [1:20:27] And so, we might be passionate in court, but outside, we still remain friends. [1:20:38] There was this one time I had encounter when Attorney Pooha was invited to the Committee on Justice Hearing. [1:20:45] Ako din ay nandun, so kami ay nakapag-usap ng, I think, in five minutes. [1:20:51] Sabi niya, sir, napaponod ko po yung mga interview mo. [1:20:54] Sabi ko rin, I also watch your interviews. [1:20:56] Sabi ko, Attorney Pooha, wala pong personalan, trabaho lang. [1:21:00] It just so happened that we are on the opposing sides of this legal battle. [1:21:04] So, nothing personal. [1:21:06] Nothing personal to the defense team. [1:21:11] Trabaho lang po ito. [1:21:12] Trabaho lang. [1:21:13] On the part of, on our part as lawyers. [1:21:19] As I said earlier, I've been in practice for 48 years. [1:21:22] I'm probably older than some of them, their ages combined. [1:21:26] But I have encountered SIG and Attorney Narvaza, senior partners of the firm, the younger ones as well. [1:21:37] Let me say that this is, competence of lawyers is very good. [1:21:42] But regardless of how competent lawyers are, it will still, at the end of the day, be based on the strength of the evidence for or against conviction or acquittal. [1:21:57] But sometimes, in my interview, sometimes I say not nice things, but alam niyo po naman, alam niyo po naman, kilala niyo po ako, ako po ay magalang pero medyo bastos kuminsan. [1:22:16] So, kung may sinasabi po ako, tungkol sa mga kalabang ko, dito sa impeachment case, pagpasensyahan niyo na lang. [1:22:25] But I'd like to reiterate that the law firm representing and the lawyers representing the defense and the vice president are all very competent lawyers. [1:22:37] But this will not sink or swim based on the competence of the lawyers. [1:22:43] This will be decided on the strength or weakness of the evidence presented. [1:22:51] Speaking of Attorney Poa, he has time and again said na wala raw pong impeachable offense si VP Sarah. [1:22:58] But if you could tell the Filipino people one thing about the evidence po ng prosecution has against Vice President Sarah Duterte, what would it be? [1:23:08] I will leave it to our chair. [1:23:11] Of course, we vehemently oppose that statement of Attorney Poa. [1:23:21] First and foremost, wala kami dito if we don't believe that there is an impeachable offense committed by the vice president. [1:23:30] We are not allowed to discuss the merits and that includes the evidence. [1:23:35] But let me just state for the record, we have four strong articles of impeachment against VP Sarah Duterte. [1:23:42] Yeah, well, I think everyone saw the video so that speaks for itself. [1:24:09] Are you done, Marian? [1:24:11] Thank you po. [1:24:12] Before we conclude, are there any remaining questions from the media? [1:24:21] If none, we ask our distinguished guests to keep their closing remarks. [1:24:28] Magandang, magandang, magandang hapon po sa inyong lahat. [1:24:43] Kagaya ng sinabi namin, kami po sa private prosecutors and I'd like to speak for my law firm, Kapuna ng Kasilyo Law Offices. [1:24:52] Handang-handa po kami maging assistance, maging assist at tumulong po sa public prosecutors under their control and supervision [1:25:05] para po mapakita ang katunayan. [1:25:09] So we are all seekers of the truth. [1:25:11] And we are here to assist the public prosecutors in presenting that truth to the public. [1:25:18] Thank you. [1:25:19] On the part of our firm, Saligal Law, we are a Cebu-based law firm. [1:25:28] It entails sacrifice, time, and attention for us to join the prosecution team. [1:25:37] Pero yung nasa isip ko, siguro 30 years from now or 50 years from now, siguro yung tanong, no? [1:25:45] Yung endeavor to unseat the vice president or to hold her accountable, was it worth pursuing? [1:25:53] Isang bagay na ayaw kong pagsisihan sa darating na panahon. [1:25:59] So yung firm, as a lawyer, we will devote 110% ng aming kakayahan na ma-prosecute successfully yung four articles of impeachment, [1:26:16] not to unseat the vice president, but more than that, to make sure na yung batas ay may paiiral natin ng batas, mayaman ka man, mahirap ka man. [1:26:29] You may have the famous family name, but if you breach the constitution, you should be held accountable for that. [1:26:39] Yung lang. [1:26:43] For Pekabar Law, I'd just like to say this because it's also part of history already. [1:26:51] In 2011, the late JPE, our principal, led the impeachment trial as presiding officer of the late Chief Justice Corona. [1:27:02] Now, 15 years later, Pekabar is again in the forefront of an impeachment trial, this time against the vice president. [1:27:11] So I think I can say to the to our principal that Pekabar is in good hands. [1:27:17] Siguro sa akin briefly lang may nabanggit kanina na di ba kami nanatakot. [1:27:26] I'll be very honest, we're private individuals, we're not even media savvy. [1:27:30] Definitely we're scared, we're worried about what will come after this. [1:27:36] But I guess given the seriousness of the job or the task ahead, nakakatakot pero hindi kami pwedeng maduwag. [1:27:45] So itutuloy namin to. [1:27:46] We are eagerly awaiting the and anticipating the proceedings that will happen, both the pretrial and the trial. [1:28:00] Pero hindi rin po namin kinakalimutan yung amin tungkulin bilang mambabatas at yung amin tungkulin bilang mamamayan na tulungan yung mga nabiktiman ng Lindol sa Mindanao. [1:28:13] So we are multitasking, but at the same time making sure that everything that we have to do will be done properly and efficiently. [1:28:23] Thank you. [1:28:24] In behalf of the entire impeachment team of the House of Representatives, I wish to state for the record that we are here to stand for the Constitution. [1:28:41] We are here to stand for accountability mechanism. [1:28:46] We are here to stand for the interest of every Filipino across the world. [1:28:52] Amid all the sacrifice, amid all the hard work, amid the bashing, there is and there will always be honor being at the forefront of these efforts to enforce and preserve the accountability mechanism. [1:29:18] Ang pagtindig po namin lahat dito sa House of Representatives, ito po ay para sa bayan. [1:29:27] Maraming salamat po. [1:29:28] Once again, thank you, House Lead Prosecutor, Jinky Betrix Luistro, House Prosecutor, Shell Jokno, and to our private prosecutors, Lorna Capunan, Marport Pua, Amanda Bergil Ligutan, and James Brian Ibrahim A. Ali. [1:29:57] Thank you for joining us this afternoon, and to everyone, sa mga kasama sa media, and of course, to the technical people sa House na tumulong sa presko na ito. [1:30:06] Maraming salamat po. Magandang tangani sa inyong lahat.