PING: MOTION TO DISMISS VP IMPEACHMENT CASE SHOULD COME FROM DEFENSE, NOT SENATOR-JUDGES
Senator-elect Ping Lacson on Wednesday said that any move to dismiss the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte should come from the defense panel, not from a senator-judge, underscoring the importance of impartiality in impeachment proceedings.
"I would like to believe that a motion to dismiss belongs to the defense panel. And where have you seen a judge moving to dismiss a case?" Lacson said in Filipino during an interview on Newswatch Plus.
He criticized Senator Bato Dela Rosa's call to dismiss the case, noting it was made even before the Senate convened as an impeachment court. Lacson argued that such a move is improper, whether done before or after the Senate sits as a court.
"You are sitting as a senator judge but you already have prejudgment. You haven't seen the evidence yet, but you already formed a judgment and moved to dismiss the case," he said. "Isn't it funny to hear a judge moving to dismiss a case he himself is trying?"
Lacson, who previously served as a senator-judge, cautioned that calls for inhibition over prejudgment could result in fewer than the required 16 votes or two-thirds of all senators to reach a verdict.
He also warned that efforts to block the trial could harm the Vice President by leaving the accusations unresolved in the public eye.
"Some of our countrymen would be thinking the Vice President is guilty because the trial did not push through," he said. "But if all pieces of evidence are presented in an impeachment trial, the public will witness the presentation of evidence and draw their own conclusions on whether the Vice President is innocent or not."
"As potential senator judges, we also want to see the evidence. If it’s not enough, sorry we have to acquit. But if we see the evidence is strong, sorry to the respondent but we have to convict," Lacson added.
BREAKING: The House of Representatives has adopted the committee report of the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which recommends the filing of charges against Vice President Sara Duterte in relation to the misuse of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President. | via Tina Panganiban-Perez/GMA Integrated News
'OUTNUMBERED, BUT NOT OUTFOUGHT ✊🏼'
This was how Senator Risa Hontiveros described her fellow senators in a Facebook post, referring to the five senators who stood firm against the motion to return the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives.
They were Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel, Hontiveros herself, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, Sen. Grace Poe and Sen. Nancy Binay.
The motion passed with 18 votes in favor, sending the impeachment case back to the House due to procedural concerns.
Read: https://t.co/KaSvKHi5B3
📸 Risa Hontiveros via Facebook
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says there is "no controversy" that the impeachment trial of VP Sara Duterte will cross over to the 20th Congress.
"It is very clear that it will. Because there is no way that even if they start the trial now, that they will finish it before the new Senators come in." | via @pia_gutierrez
By midafternoon on Thursday, June 5, 120 professors and lecturers had already signed the open letter. They included retired International Criminal Court judge and former UP Law Dean Raul Pangalangan; constitutional law professor and human rights lawyer Antonio La Viña; former Supreme Court spokesperson Theodore Te; constitutional law professors Dante Gatmaytan and Paolo Tamase; and maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal.
READ MORE: https://t.co/lrAmh0ww8D
Concluded a short but fruitful visit to the Philippines! Building on existing strong foundations, we are taking concrete steps to enhance our bilateral partnership. I look forward to returning next year when the Philippines takes over as the ASEAN Chair. 🇸🇬🤝🇵🇭
JUST IN: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. retains the heads of the following agencies:
-Department of Agriculture
-Department of Agrarian Reform
-Department of Education
-Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
-Department of Labor and Employment
-Department of Social Welfare and Development
-Department of Health
-Department of Migrant Workers
-Department of Science and Technology
-Department of Tourism
-Department of Information and Communications Technology
-Department of Transportation
-Department of Public Works and Highways
-Metropolitan Manila Development Authority
-Bureau of Customs
-Bureau of Internal Revenue | via @JPMangaluz
White smoke! The 133 Cardinal electors gathered in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel have elected the new Pope. He will appear soon at the central window of St. Peter’s Basilica.
God save the Philippines from one Sara Zimmerman Duterte
I saw this video on Instagram and although I rarely share videos like this, I sincerely think it sums up everything that is wrong with the Sara Duterte Holy Week message.
I dare say that she is indeed worse than her father! At least Rodrigo Roa Duterte did not try to package himself as a God-loving person, while Sara Duterte with some obviously fake facial expressions and calm tone of voice just recorded a video. Saying words that obviously do not reflect her values!
I do not know about the flock of Quiboloy or the Iglesia ni Cristo, but the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church value accountability and honesty. Our teaching does not condone killing one person, more so if thousands. It doesn’t celebrate the death of even the most sinful of men, not drug addicts and especially their so-called “collateral damages”.
Her values are the exact opposite of the teachings you must reflect on as Catholics or Christians this Holy Week.
Practice what you preach, Madam!
Video: @jusquapilipinas
PANOORIN: Dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte, kinantahan ng "Happy Birthday" ng ilang mga nagpo-protesta kontra sa dating pangulo sa Liwasang Bonifacio, Manila kasabay ng pagdiriwang nito ng ika-80 na kaarawan.
Kasalukuyang nasa kustodiya ng International Criminal Court ang dating pangulo kaugnay ng kasong crimes against humanity. | via Mark Salazar/GMA Integrated News
READ: List of newly-appointed judges to the Regional Trial Courts (RTCs), Metropolitan Trial Courts (MeTCs), Municipal Trial Courts (MTCs), Municipal Circuit Trial Courts (MCTCs), and Municipal Trial Courts in Cities (MTCCs) in NCR, Regions II, III, IV, V, VII, VIII, X, XI, and XII.
The #SupremeCourtPH received their appointment papers today, March 25, 2025.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile believes that the constitutional right to freedom of expression relies on truthful information to inform the public and not to manipulate them.
https://t.co/Kj0ltF2K3U
Humigit pa sa kinakailangan ang bilang ng mga mambabatas na lumagda sa ikaapat na #impeachment complaint laban kay Vice Pres. #SaraDuterte, ayon kay House Secretary-General Reginald Velasco. #News5
BREAKING: USAID Was Secretly Funding The BBC To Run Anti-Trump/Musk Reporting Similar To The $300 Million Given By The Biden Administration To Reuters To Target Musk!
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https://t.co/GCUQKk51wL
JUST IN: Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile weighs in on the tariff war between the US, Canada, Mexico, and China. He asks if this will disrupt the US' economic, political, diplomatic, and security relations with other nations and usher in US isolationism policy. | @JMAurelioINQ /PDI