Metro Manila, Philippines – As the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte enters its third day, counsel for public prosecutors Amando Ligutan and defense attorney Cj Narvasa are set to face off again on Wednesday, July 8, over Duterte’s alleged kill threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez.
At the end of the second day on July 7, the prosecution panel said it scored points over the defense on the first day as it managed to summon a government agent as witness and presented the video of Duterte uttering threats against Marcos Jr.
The defense panel will cross-examine National Bureau of Investigation special agent John Mark Calilung, who authenticated the video and documented it from the social media platform source.
Ligutan and Narvasa are expected to engage in another legal tussle.
Ligutan is the managing partner at SALiGAL Law. He graduated summa cum laude with a degree in philosophy from the University of San Carlos in Cebu and earned his law degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law. He is also a professor at the UP College of Law, University of San Jose-Recoletos School of Law, and University of Cebu School of Law.
Narvasa is a senior associate at Fortun Narvasa & Salazar law. He was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2016. He earned both his bachelor’s degree in A.B. English Literature and his juris doctor from the Ateneo de Manila University.
During the Tuesday proceedings, Narvasa repeatedly objected to Ligutan’s questions to Calilung, calling them leading or vague. He also questioned if the documents the prosecution presented were true certified copies as they were shown as photocopies. Impeachment Court presiding officer Chiz Escudero overruled many of Narvasa’s objections.
At one point, Ligutan moved to play the two-minute recording of Duterte alleging that she hired an assassin to kill Marcos before the impeachment court. Narvasa, in response, said that the whole video recording which is over two hours in length should be played to provide context. Escudero shut down the defense’s play.
Defense spokesperson Michael Poa clarified that the overruled objections did not dismay Duterte’s team as they wanted their positions put on record. He also said that the move to play the whole two-hour video was a strategy to provide context to the vice president’s statements.
Meanwhile, Escudero said NBI Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc must appear as a witness as his subpoena only covers July 6 to July 8.
