Sara Duterte impeachment trial hits snag as NBI chief testifies

MANILA, Philippines — The impeachment trial of Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Tuesday, July 21, saw its first continuance as the direct and cross-examination of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag, the prosecution's final witness, stretched into the evening. Matibag was presented as the prosecution's last witness for Article IV, which charges Duterte with grave threats. The article stems from her November 2024 online press conference statement where she said she had told someone to kill the president, the first lady, and the former House Speaker if she herself were killed. Under direct examination by lead prosecutor Rep. Jinky Luistro, Matibag explained the special task force he created in April under Administrative Order No. 11. He stated that the inquiry sought to pursue what he called a "serious, active and continuing threat to the life of the president," elevating it from an ordinary crime to a "national security issue" due to Duterte's words crossing from warning into intent. To assess the danger, Matibag said, the NBI used a five-part method traced to US Secret Service protective-intelligence work, applied when "there is a threat to a known personality." This method considers: pattern of violence, gravity, identity, capacity, and motive. The NBI chief confirmed they have identified "persons of interest" who could lead to whoever Duterte allegedly spoke with, but would not name them, calling the inquiry open and continuing. However, during the defense's turn, counsel Mark Vinluan pressed Matibag on his lack of direct, personal knowledge of the NBI's earlier probe into Duterte's actions. Matibag confirmed he took office on February 20, 2026, more than a year after the alleged threat. His knowledge of the early investigation came from official records and February affidavits. Vinluan also highlighted potential bias, noting that Matibag's wife, Rep. Lourdes Matibag, was among the endorsers of the impeachment resolution. The defense also presented three opinion columns Matibag wrote in 2024 that criticized Duterte, a term Matibag claimed was coined for her by her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte. In a detour, the defense showed an infographic of an alleged Social Weather Stations survey putting Duterte's trust rating at 57%. Vinluan asked if Matibag still felt Duterte had poor public trust. Matibag held that his writings reflected his views at the time and that surveys do not steer NBI investigations, calling a survey "just a snapshot." He maintained his wife's work as a legislator is also "totally detached" from his post. At one point, Vinluan and Matibag sparred over what Matibag could properly testify to. Asked for the Tagalog term for hearsay, Vinluan offered "chismis," or gossip. Matibag, a lawyer of 29 years, replied he had never heard the word used for hearsay in court. A significant point of contention arose with the introduction of an affidavit by Arturo Lascañas, a self-confessed member of the Davao Death Squad. Matibag said the task force reviewed it as part of its "pattern of violence" assessment for Duterte. The affidavit, submitted to the International Criminal Court, names Duterte as an architect of the Oplan Tokhang killings during her years as Davao City mayor and claims she personally ordered abductions. Vinluan objected strenuously, arguing Matibag could not testify to a statement he did not execute, that the copy shown was unsigned and never notarized, and that it was "a mere scrap of paper." Presiding officer Chiz Escudero allowed the affidavit to be presented only to show what the NBI had examined, "not as to the truth of the allegations," a limit he reiterated multiple times as prosecutors had Matibag read passages aloud. The surprise introduction of the Lascañas affidavit led the defense to request a continuance, citing the need to review newly introduced material, including the roughly 100-page affidavit, and to study subjects they argued fell outside the impeachment articles. Escudero granted the request, overriding prosecution objections. Notably, Day 8 also saw a shift in how senator-judges could interject. In the first half of the trial, Escudero told senator-judges to hold their questions until after cross-examination and redirect, except for urgent administrative or procedural matters. This is a shift from earlier trial days when senators would break in freely. When interpellations did occur, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian pressed Matibag on whether the NBI had uncovered an actual contract or identified an accomplice in Duterte's alleged plot. Matibag acknowledged that after a year and eight months, the NBI has not found an actual contract or a specific hitman. The trial is set to resume with the cross-examination of Matibag. Information Source: Philstar Nation