By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The prosecution formally opened its case against Vice President Sara Duterte before the Senate Impeachment Court on Tuesday by presenting a senior National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) cybercrime official as its first witness to authenticate a controversial video that allegedly contains threats against the country’s top leaders.
Taking the witness stand was John Mark Calilung, a senior agent assigned to the NBI’s Cybercrime Investigation Unit. His testimony centered on establishing the authenticity of a video that prosecutors cited as key evidence supporting the fourth Article of Impeachment, which accuses Duterte of committing grave threats.
According to the prosecution, the video allegedly shows the Vice President making statements directed at President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Opening the prosecution’s presentation, private prosecutor Amando Virgil Ligutan argued that the impeachment case is supported not only by witness accounts and documentary evidence but also by the Vice President’s own recorded statements and public admissions.
Ligutan told the impeachment court that the case involves statements allegedly made by a constitutional official who is first in the line of succession to the presidency, making the issue one of national significance rather than a simple exercise of free speech.
He maintained that the alleged remarks carry serious constitutional implications because they involve the country’s highest public officials and were supposedly made by an official entrusted with safeguarding the nation’s democratic institutions.
The prosecutor also pointed out that Duterte has publicly expressed her intention to seek the presidency in the next national elections, a circumstance he argued heightens the importance of examining the allegations before the impeachment court.
The defense is expected to challenge the prosecution’s evidence as the historic impeachment proceedings continue before the Senate sitting as an impeachment court.
ia/xf
