Sara Duterte Impeachment Trial: NBI Director Testifies on 'Pattern of Violence'

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate impeachment court opened Day 8 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s trial on Tuesday by admonishing National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag, with Presiding Officer Francis Escudero telling him to “kindly avoid statements pertaining to individual members of this impeachment court” as soon as Matibag was called to the witness stand. Matibag had been at the center of a public dispute with some senator-judges before his testimony. READ: Highlights: Day 7 of Sara Duterte impeachment trial | July 20, 2026 Despite defense objections to prosecution questions about the NBI’s special task force, Escudero overruled most of the challenges and allowed Matibag to proceed. Testifying under Article IV on Duterte’s alleged grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Matibag told the court that the NBI aimed to establish a “pattern of violence” against Duterte. The prosecution presented a video of Duterte, when she was Davao City mayor, punching a sheriff as supporting evidence of that pattern. Matibag also testified that the similarity between threats made by Duterte and those later made by her brother, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, suggests possible collusion against the president’s life. When Senator-judge Bam Aquino asked about the probability that Duterte had spoken to a hitman, Matibag replied that based on the vice president’s own statements, he was “100 percent” certain she had spoken to someone. At the close of the session, the court granted a defense motion for a continuance, giving the defense team more time to examine documents the prosecution presented during Matibag’s testimony. As a result, the cross-examination of Matibag will continue on Wednesday, July 22, and Article I on Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds will not be taken up that day. Presiding Officer Escudero also announced that Week 4 of the trial will consist of only one session day, running from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., to accommodate President Marcos’s State of the Nation Address on July 27 and the Kontra-Sona on July 28. Off the witness stand, House prosecutors held a press conference to address several controversies. Rep. Chel Diokno and lawyer Jay Tolosa denied that Duterte was impeached before evidence was gathered, arguing the Senate trial is the proper forum for full presentation of evidence. Diokno described the subpoena order as “a big step forward” for the prosecution of Article II on unexplained wealth, while stressing the case is still in its early stages. The defense team, for its part, said lawyers were “shocked” that much of the financial-records ruling had been prepared before the trial formally began on July 6, though defense spokesperson lawyer Michael Poa said the team respects the decision. Meanwhile, Duterte herself was in The Hague, Netherlands during Day 8, according to her defense team. /dp Editor’s note: This update was generated with the aid of artificial intelligence based on Inquirer.net, Philippine Daily Inquirer and Cebu Daily News articles and reviewed by a human editor.