News

Metro Manila, Philippines – The Senate on Monday, May 18, appointed new committee chairpersons during a plenary session under the leadership of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. The chairpersons and their committees are: Loren Legarda  – retained, Committee on Culture and the Arts – Committee on Basic Education Pia Cayetano – retained, Committee on Ways and Means – retained, Committee on Energy – Committee on SDG, Innovation, and Futures Thinking   Bong Go  – retained, Committee on Sports – Committee on Health and Demography  Joel Villanueva  – Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education Jinggoy Estrada  – Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation  – Committee on Games and Amusement Rodante Marcoleta  – Committee on Public Services Robin Padilla – retained, Committee on Cultural Communities and Muslim Affairs – Committee on Public Information and Mass Media Right after the leadership change on May 11, some senators pushed for clarity…

Metro Manila, Philippines – The Impeachment Court convened on Monday, May 18, for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano is the court presiding officer. The rumored Senate leadership change did not happen, though the Senate, before convening the court, formally recognized the minority bloc with 11 senators, while the majority stayed at 13, including Senator Bato dela Rosa who was absent.  Without Dela Rosa, who has gone into hiding again over an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, the majority is down to 12 senators — just a vote shy in case a division of the house is called for a new leadership again.  Senator-judges donned their maroon robes and took their oath of office, vowing to remain impartial in the proceedings. The session was short as the court just took judicial notice of the transmittal by the House of Representatives of…

Metro Manila, Philippines – All eyes are on the Senate on Monday, May 18, as the leadership of Alan Peter Cayetano hangs in the balance with talks of another possible leadership change to coincide with the convening of the Impeachment Court for the case of Vice President Sara Duterte. An unceremonial twist swept Cayetano to the leadership last week marked by the sudden appearance of absentee Sen. Bato dela Rosa, but just days after, Cayetano admitted threats to his new role. A successful ouster would make him the shortest sitting Senate president in Philippine history. “Expected naman ‘yun e [That’s expected],” he said in an interview with reporters last week, referring to another possible leadership change.  A number of names were reportedly floated as replacement, including Win Gatchalian and Kiko Pangilinan.  Pangilinan said he was not interested in the post, and would rather focus on his advocacy on food security.…

Metro Manila, Philippines – The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has asked the Supreme Court to deny the petition filed by Senator Ronald dela Rosa in connection with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into the Duterte administration’s war on drugs. In a comment submitted to the high court, the OSG said in its filing that Dela Rosa’s motions should be dismissed “for utter lack of merit.” “This is a case study in how the powerful corrodes the rule of law,” the OSG said in its filing, referring to Dela Rosa’s alleged refusal to recognize the enforcement of an ICC warrant against him. The OSG said Dela Rosa went into hiding after reports surfaced about a possible ICC warrant, resurfacing only to vote for Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate President before allegedly leaving the Senate premises again on May 14. The filing also revisited Dela Rosa’s role as former…

Metro Manila, Philippines – Former President Rodrigo Duterte may face trial for his crimes against humanity case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) beginning Nov. 30 based on a proposal by prosecutors. The prosecution panel said it expects to complete pre-trial preparations by Sept. 30, adding that the proposed timeline would make Duterte’s case “one of the fastest” to proceed to trial following the confirmation of charges. According to the filing, prosecutors still need to complete reviewing evidence, finalizing investigations, preparing witness testimonies, and securing protective measures for witnesses. The prosecution said it plans to rely on around 60 to 70 witnesses during trial, including insider witnesses, crime-base witnesses, and expert witnesses.  Around 25 to 30 witnesses are expected to testify live in court, while others may provide previously recorded testimony. Prosecutors estimated that direct examination of witnesses could take up to 200 hours due to the scale of the…