Category: Philippine Star

As the country remembers – still with much anger and horror – the dark years of the Marcos-declared martial law on Sept. 21, 1972, it is somehow reassuring that there are excellent books for those who did not experience martial law to be given the chance to immerse themselves in the era. So that 54 years after, it is still remembered in all its ugly and dehumanizing details, prompting them to say, never again. Such a deprivation of life, liberty and the rule of law ought not to be allowed ever again.

The impact of the importance of the youth’s involvement and participation is further reinforced with the current well-received run of the movie ‘Edjop’ which is on the life of the young activist leader from the Ateneo, well-remembered for his demand, relayed in a face-to-face audience with the dictator Marcos, for Marcos not to run for reelection for a third term. He was rudely rebuffed and dismissed, ‘a grocer’s son.’ Edjop went on to become a firmer and more determined activist, earned a P80,000 price on his head, was killed in a military raid in Davao also on the same date as the martial law proclamation, 10 years after. The excellent screen production shows Edjop’s relentless passion to sacrifice everything for love of country and how all these affected his wife Joy and their three children.

I have two highly recommended books for my martial law reading and remembering this year: ‘Days of Disquiet, Nights of Rage: The First Quarter Storm and Related Events’ by Jose F. Lacaba (Salinlahi Publishing House, 1982) and ‘Not on our Watch: Martial Law Really Happened. We were there,’ edited by Jo-Ann Maglipon (Publications Group, LEADS-CEGP, 2011).

At the outset, I have to say that these two titles are from my library and thus, I cannot answer inquiries about where to purchase them. My apologies.

Lacaba does not write as a historian viewing events from an impersonal distance but as an involved journalist covering the First Quarter Storm (FQS) and other events. To him, these assignments were not mere coverages to undertake. He does not hide his bias, that he is more sympathetic with the students in protest rather than the Establishment. Fortunate for us, the readers, his is not a detached account, rather a personal one that brings us to how the events ‘looked, sounded and felt from within the opposition movement.’

Lacaba is a writer and a poet, as evident in his very choice of title. ‘Disquiet’ conjures anxiety, uncertainty and a society becoming unsettled. ‘Rage’ is a much stronger and powerful word, suggesting that the political crisis has moved beyond dissatisfaction into confrontation.

Lacaba has been praised for his literary journalism, demonstrated in the book when he makes the student activists and protesters the main characters. It is remembered that in usual such accounts, presidents, political leaders, military officers usually take center stage. In a sense, this is history from below.

Among his eyewitness accounts, revealing his personal engagement, is seeing student protesters physically beaten. How can he remain distant? ‘I stood there paralyzed by a mess of emotions – rage, outrage, frustration, fear and hate,’ he wrote.

There is in the eyewitness, many contradictory feelings of ‘a glorious time, a time of terror and of wrath, but also a time for hope.’

‘Not on our Watch: Martial Law Really Happened…’ is an interesting collection of martial law accounts of student editors during the early years of the dictatorship; this, their collective act of remembering, especially for a nation that tends to forget so easily.

At a reunion of these campus editors four decades after, they decided to put together this collective memoir of an important period in their young lives. They did not mean to produce a history book, but to ensure that their memories are not lost. There was no specific structure to their recollections, thus their memories may be best described to overlap, contradict, illuminate and sometimes supplement one another.

Their accounts reveal their transformation, from young people who began as campus journalists and became adults under authoritarianism. They are not portrayed as victims, though they were so in a sense. For there was fear, imprisonment, violence and political repression. But their narratives also show humor, youthful bravado, friendship, romance, confusion, idealism and even absurdity. And the many difficult choices they had to make.

The long title is interesting because every word matters, was well-chosen: ‘We were there’ looks backward, while ‘Not on our watch’ looks forward. In other words, this is not to be forgotten and not allowed to happen again.

There is much strength, courage and inspiration from these former student journalists turned successful prominent professionals.

The late activist and academic Roberto Verzola, who underwent the worst of physical torture and indignity but never buckled down, wrote, ‘When we of this generation go, our memories should not leave the world with us. No, we must never forget.’

The editor Maglipon wrote, ‘In the fight against a dictator, it (writing) was my only slingshot.’

The book is not the history of martial law from an abstract political episode but a ‘collection of lived human experiences.’

These books ensure that we never forget the nightmare that was martial law.

The moment I received one of those long, italicized ‘share as received’ forwarded messages from Kat, my friend of many years, it actually stopped me in my tracks instead of getting scrolled past.

Somewhere in nearly everyone’s phone is a folder of forwarded messages nobody asked for; most are forgettable, but occasionally one lands with more weight than expected.

One has circulated quietly for years, describing retirement in three unsentimental stages.

From 58 to 64, your workplace begins drifting away from you no matter how influential you once were; you become, in the world’s eyes, simply ordinary again.

From 65 to 71, society itself loosens its grip; old colleagues vanish, and people at your former office may not even recognize you.

And from 72 onward, even family begins, gently and without malice, to draw back, busy with their own lives, their visits now a genuine gift instead of an obligation.

And then the message concludes with an unflinching line: eventually, even the earth is ready to let you go!

It’s blunt, occasionally clumsy in its phrasing, and still undeniably honest, which is probably why it keeps getting forwarded instead of forgotten.

But I think it’s only telling half the story, and Ecclesiastes chapter three tells us the other half.

Solomon opens that chapter with his famous poem: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.

Read against the forwarded message, that poem suddenly sounds less like poetry and more like a diagnosis.

Every stage that message describes, the fading relevance, the thinning circle, the quieter house is simply Solomon’s ancient observation playing out in a modern inbox.

Seasons change. Influence fades. People move on, not out of cruelty, but because that’s what seasons genuinely do.

Pretending otherwise, clinging to the identity of a season that has already ended, only makes the following one more painful than it needs to be.

But right in the middle of that same chapter, Solomon writes something the forwarded message never quite gets to: ‘He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart.’

That one line changes everything about how we should read the three stages.

Here is the real reason the fading of relevance, of recognition, of company stings as deeply as it does.

It isn’t only sentimentality. It’s evidence of something eternal lodged inside us that refuses to treat any earthly season as the final word.

If we were purely creatures of this world, with nothing eternal woven into us, we could simply adjust to each stage the way a thermostat adjusts to temperature, with no ache, no resistance, just recalibration.

But we don’t recalibrate that easily, and Solomon tells us exactly why: eternity is in the heart, and nothing under the sun was ever built large enough to hold it.

That reframes the entire arc the forwarded message describes.

The fading isn’t proof that life eventually empties out. It’s proof we were never intended to find our final significance in a workplace, a social circle, or even our own family’s daily attention, genuinely good things, all of them, but never eternal ones.

They were always going to loosen their grip, precisely because they were never designed to be the place where our deepest significance lived.

This is where the message concludes. ‘Eat your favorite food with joy, do your favorite work with zeal, stay in touch with old friends because life comes only once’ is wise as far as it goes, but incomplete without what Solomon adds a few verses later: ‘eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all your toil for this is the gift of God.’

Not a consolation prize but an actual gift, received from God’s hand, meant to be enjoyed precisely because it’s temporary and ordinary, not despite that fact.

So yes, call your old friends. Enjoy your favorite meal without guilt. Do meaningful work with real enthusiasm for as long as your body allows.

That part of the message is worth keeping.

But don’t stop at ‘life comes only once, so make the most of it.’

Solomon’s deeper counsel is that life, precisely because every season eventually fades, was never meant to be where your soul finally rests.

Eternity was placed in your heart for a reason, and it was never satisfied by any stage of life to begin with, no matter how full, how influential, or how surrounded by people you once were.

The world will indeed loosen its grip on you, stage by stage, exactly as that message describes.

But Someone with an eternal grip has already made sure that goodbye was never the final word.

Every season under the sun eventually ends.

The One who placed eternity in your heart does not.

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The well-attended reception celebrating the 81st anniversary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was full of diplomats, business leaders and friends of Vietnam. The size of the gathering was impressive, but what really resonated with me was the unmistakable confidence of a country that knows where it wants to go – and intends to get there quickly.

I have followed Vietnam’s progress for many years, yet I was still surprised by the scale of its economic ambition. Measured in nominal dollars, Vietnam is still roughly a half-trillion-dollar economy. But in purchasing-power terms, it has already crossed the trillion-dollar mark, and its leaders are openly pursuing double-digit growth and developed-country status by 2045. It is no longer merely an emerging market selling garments and footwear – it is becoming a major manufacturing, electronics and technology center.

The World Bank says Vietnam’s economy expanded by eight percent in 2025, the fastest in ASEAN, supported by exports and public investment. Despite global uncertainty, its growth momentum remains among the strongest in the region. Samsung, Intel, Foxconn and other international companies have made Vietnam an essential part of their production networks. Foreign-invested enterprises account for about 70 percent of its exports.

Vietnam’s advantage is not that it has no problems. It faces expensive infrastructure demands, energy constraints, an aging population, climate threats and the risk of depending too heavily on exports. Its political and economic systems are also very different from ours. We should not pretend that everything Vietnam does can or should be copied by the Philippines.

But one lesson is difficult to dispute: when Vietnam decides that an investment is strategically important, its government moves with urgency. Investors are given a clear signal about priorities, incentives, land, infrastructure and timelines. Government agencies are expected to coordinate rather than compete. When the global minimum tax threatened to reduce the value of traditional tax incentives, Vietnam worked on an investment support fund to help qualified high-technology projects with infrastructure, fixed assets and worker training. It did not simply complain that the rules had changed – it adjusted its offer.

That decisiveness shows in the numbers. According to the ASEAN Investment Report cited by the Asian Development Bank, Vietnam received about $20 billion in foreign direct investment in 2024, compared with $8.9 billion for the Philippines. We remain one of Asia’s faster-growing economies, but red tape, high electricity costs and weak infrastructure continue to hold us back. These are not new discoveries. Investors have been telling us the same things for years.

The Philippines has many advantages Vietnam would gladly have: a young, English-speaking workforce; a strategic location; rich mineral resources; democratic institutions; deep cultural ties with the United States and a large domestic market. We have passed important reforms and created attractive incentives. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has personally worked hard to bring major investors to the country. Our economic managers know what must be done.

Yet problems often begin after the announcements. A prospective investor hears strong assurances at the top, then encounters overlapping permits, changing interpretations, slow local approvals and agencies that don’t share the same timetable. Capital is patient only up to a point. A billion-dollar factory cannot wait indefinitely while papers travel from desk to desk. When another country can offer a credible decision, serviced land, reliable power and a firm schedule, the investment goes there – and so do the jobs, technology and supply chains.

The emerging Pax Silica initiative makes this competition even more urgent. Led by the US, Pax Silica seeks trusted and resilient supply chains for the age of artificial intelligence – from critical minerals and energy to semiconductors, data infrastructure and advanced manufacturing. The Philippines is already positioned within this effort, with Clark and our mineral resources offering enormous possibilities. Vietnam has also made clear it is ready to participate.

We should welcome Vietnam’s interest. Pax Silica should not be viewed as a contest in which one ASEAN neighbor must lose for another to win. Secure supply chains require several trusted locations. The real question is whether each country can convert diplomatic alignment into factories, laboratories, power projects, training programs and employment.

Vietnam will arrive at the table with a powerful proposition: scale, speed, manufacturing experience and disciplined execution, while the Philippines offers talent, resources, strategic geography and one of America’s strongest alliances. On paper, our hand is excellent. But investors do not place billions of dollars on paper advantages. They invest where decisions become permits, where permits become construction and where construction begins on time.

We should therefore establish a true fast lane for strategic investments – not another committee, but a single empowered mechanism with fixed deadlines and accountable officials. Incentives must be competitive, but certainty is often the greatest incentive of all. Power, ports, roads, digital connectivity and skilled workers must be prepared before investors ask for them. And once the President gives the green light, the rest of government must move in the same direction.

At Vietnam’s anniversary reception, the atmosphere was celebratory, but the underlying message was serious. Eighty-one years after independence, Vietnam is not looking backward. It is measuring the distance to its next factory, its next technology hub and its next stage of national development.

Filipinos should admire that achievement without becoming discouraged. The Philippines can move just as fast, and perhaps even faster. But opportunity does not wait for bureaucracy to finish deliberating. In the race for investment, countries that decide today build tomorrow. Those that delay might one day discover that tomorrow has already been built somewhere else – in the end, it’s our children’s future that may be gone forever.

How would you like your chicken? Is it filleted, crispy and golden, or served with a drizzling of sweet and spicy sauce on top?

Achieve this delightfully refreshing fried chicken goodness with The Maya Kitchen’s Hawaiian Chicken, which also answers to the name Mochiko Chicken.

Hawaiian Chicken is a popular chicken dish where the chicken is cooked and served with a tropical-inspired sweet and savory glaze. It usually has pineapple juice as an ingredient, which is why it is called Hawaiian Chicken. But sometimes it can so without pineapple juice so that it turns out a slightly different natural flavor.

Without pineapple juice and with sweet rice flour (achieved through a combination of glutinous rice flour and sugar) made even deeper in flavor with Japanese ingredients, such as mirin and Japanese soy sauce, it crosses over to become a version of Mochiko Chicken.

“Mochiko” refers to sweet rice flour, and classic Mochiko Chicken is Hawaiian-style deep-fried chicken with a light, crunchy bite. It is best enjoyed over a bowl of freshly cooked rice to absorb all that lovely glazed sauce.

The Maya Kitchen shows how to prepare the dish and add toppings that will add more touches of Japanese flavors for a full appreciation of the dish.

Hawaiian Chicken or Mochiko Chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 kg. chicken thigh fillet or breast fillet

1/4 cup Japanese soy sauce

3 tbsps. white sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. mirin*

1 tbsp. grated garlic

1 tsp. fresh ginger juice (squeezed from 1 tbsp. grated ginger)

1/3 cup glutinous rice flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/3 cup Maya Cornstarch

Cooking oil, for deep-frying

Furikake (Japanese rice seasoning flakes), for topping

Japanese mayonnaise, for topping

Chili sauce, for topping

Procedure:

1. Cut chicken fillet into chunks. Set aside.

2. Prepare the marinade. In a bowl, combine soy sauce, sugar, salt, beaten egg, mirin, garlic, ginger juice, glutinous rice flour, baking powder, and Maya Cornstarch. Mix together.

3. Add chicken pieces to the marinade and mix to fully cover chicken with the marinade. Cover and allow chicken to marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

4. To cook, heat cooking oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Deep-fry chicken pieces, one at a time, until golden and crisp. Remove chicken and set on a paper towel or colander to drain off excess oil.

5. To serve, scoop rice into a bowl. Top with Hawaiian fried chicken. Drizzle with Japanese mayonnaise and chili sauce, if desired. Finally, sprinkle with furikake. Serve hot!

The Philippines bagged its first medal of the 2026 Asian Games after settling for a bronze in the soft tennis event Sunday morning at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.

The Philippines, already assured of a third place finish, fell against reigning Asian Games champion Japan, 2-0, to bag the bronze medal.

In the first match of the team event, Kiho Miyamae and Rio Maeda drubbed Princess Catindig and Noelle Manalac, 4-0, 4-1, 4-2, 4-0 and 4-1, to take the 1-0 lead.

And in the second match, Ayaka Iwakura overpowered Cristy Sanosa, 4-0, 4-1, 4-2 and 4-2, to help Japan reach the final round.

Still, it was a historic medal for the Philippines in soft tennis, being the first-ever Asian Games medal for the country in the sport.

The Philippines finished the group play with a 2-1 win-loss record, after wins over Mongolia and Thailand before falling against Chinese Taipei.

The ‘Degree Behind Bars’ program of Mandaue City College (MCC) drew the attention of local college presidents in Central Visayas as they explored initiatives that could be adapted by other institutions.

Association of Local Colleges and Universities in Region 7 (ALCU-7) Chairman Dr. Richel Bacaltos, president of Talisay City College, said the group looked into how MCC provides persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) an opportunity to pursue higher education while serving their sentences.

ALCU-7 members visited MCC on September 16 as part of its 13th quarterly meeting held in Mandaue City.

‘Mao na ang among tan-awon dinhi og giunsa nila… tingali ma-apply namo ang among nakat-unan sa pagbisita sa Mandaue City College,’ Bacaltos said.

He said the visit allowed members of the association to learn from MCC’s experience and examine how the program could potentially be applied in other local colleges.

Around 21 presidents of local colleges and universities from Cebu and Bohol took part in the two-day meeting, with eight representatives from Cebu and 13 from Bohol.

Bacaltos said the quarterly gathering also served as an avenue for local colleges to exchange experiences and discuss concerns that they commonly face.

‘We establish partnership, ingon ani benchmarking aron sa usa’g usa makakat-on mi,’ he said.

Among the challenges faced by local colleges, according to Bacaltos, are financial constraints and compliance with the standards and requirements of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

‘These are all challenges nga atong giatubang sa mga local colleges,’ Bacaltos said.

The association also discussed micro-credentialing with CHED and other initiatives related to student development.

Before the MCC visit, the college presidents met with Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Jovito ‘Jonkie’ Ouano at City Hall on September 15.

Bacaltos said ALCU-7’s regular meetings provide member institutions with opportunities to establish partnerships and learn from programs and practices implemented by other local colleges

Justin Kenneth Carandang of GMA News Online was elected new president of the Collegiate Press Corps for the 2026-27 athletic season, which covers UAAP Season 89 and NCAA Season 102.

Carandang steps up as new head of the unified media organization after previously serving as its Vice President for Internal Affairs following elections held on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Joining Carandang in the new CPC leadership are Julio Gabriel Sampedro of UAAP Varsity Channel as VP for internal affairs, Luisa Morales of One Sports as VP for UAAP, Rom Anzures of ABS-CBN News as VP for NCAA and John Mark Garcia of SPIN.ph as secretary.

The new Board of Directors is composed of Theodore Jurado of People’s Journal, Ivan Suing of Daily Tribune, Abby Toralba of Malaya Business Insight, Niel Victor Masoy of The Manila Times and Ralph Villanueva of Philstar.com.

‘I would like to thank the Collegiate Press Corps for putting their trust in us. We will strive to become better storytellers as we put the journeys of our student-athletes into the spotlight,’ said the 33-year-old Carandang.

The UAAP and NCAA Press Corps were unified in 2022 to bring together members of traditional and digital media covering both leagues.

The organization has since expanded its programs and projects beyond game coverage, including its annual Awards Night recognizing standout collegiate athletes and coaches across basketball, volleyball and football.

Meanwhile, former CPC presidents Joey Villar of The Star, Norman Lee Benjamin Riego of SPIN.ph, Randolph Leongson and John Bryan Ulanday of The Star, as well as Camille Naredo of ABS-CBN News will serve as advisers to guide the new set of officers.

‘We would also like to thank those who came before us. We stand on the shoulders of the great leaders and members who helped shape the organization into what it is today,’ Carandang added.

The Gilas women stamped their ticket to the quarterfinal round of the Asian Games women’s basketball division after blasting Hong Kong, 90-73, Sunday morning at the Aichi International Arena in Japan.

Gilas remained unscathed through two games after back-to-back huge wins. The squad first defeated Kazakhstan, 86-58, before the huge win over Hong Kong.

Stefanie Berberabe paced the Filipina dribblers with 21 points, five rebounds and two assists. Afril Bernardino added 17 markers, 11 boards and four dimes, while Jhaz Joson had 15 points.

The two teams were kept in a close game through the midway point of the third quarter, with a triple by Tsz Kwan Li making it a 59-57 lead by the Philippines.

But Gilas stepped on the gas and left Hong Kong on the rear-view mirror with a backbreaking 16-3 run capped by a deuce by Afril Bernardino to push the Philippines ahead, 76-60, with 7:37 remaining.

Li and Tong tried to rally Hong Kong back into the game, but Bernardino, Joson, Camille Malagar and Berberabe put the finishing touches in the dominant win.

Malagar tallied 14 points for the winning team, while Elizabeth Means chipped in 11.

Li carried the offense for Hong Kong with 30 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Tan Fung Ma had 15 markers.

The Philippines will take on Japan in their final Group B play on Tuesday. The home team is also holding a 1-0 record thus far, before facing Kazakhstan Sunday afternoon.

Global investment giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. (KKR) has divested its entire stake in Lopez-led First Gen Corp. for P25.77 billion, just weeks after its bid to raise its ownership in the power firm was rejected.

KKR, through Valorous Asia Holdings Pte. Ltd., sold 715.86 million shares – equivalent to a 19.9-percent economic interest in First Gen – to Angsana Finance Ltd., a subsidiary of Cayman Islands’ Gateway Holdings Ltd.

A Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) filing showed that the block sale was executed on Sept. 10 at P36 per share, substantially higher than First Gen’s P23.70 closing price on Sept. 11.

Following the transaction, KKR senior advisor Manolo Michael de Guzman resigned as a director of First Gen. Bank of America advised KKR on the deal.

‘KKR had been in First Gen since 2020, so it was about time for it to exit and realize a return on its investment,’ China Bank Capital Corp. managing director Juan Paolo Colet said when sought for insights.

While the transaction is not expected to have any immediate financial impact on First Gen, Colet said Gateway’s entry could affect how tycoon Federico Lopez charts the power firm’s strategic direction.

Gateway is an alternative investment manager focused on emerging markets across South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

‘Given Gateway’s entry price of P36 per share, they would need to unlock significant value to make a good return, and one way to do that is through an MandA (merger and acquisition) either at the First Gen or EDC (Energy Development Corp.) level,’ Colet said.

KKR’s divestment came after the Lopez Group’s First Philippine Holdings Corp. thumbed down the former’s proposal to acquire a portion of the latter’s stake in First Gen. FPH currently owns 67.84 percent of First Gen.

KKR had sought to buy an 8.43-percent stake in First Gen held by FPH and launch a voluntary tender offer for the power firm’s entire 11.67-percent public float at P35 per share.

The House prosecution panel is preparing witnesses to testify on Vice President Sara Duterte’s declared business interests, possible government contracts and registered firearms for this week’s impeachment hearings.

Counsel for the prosecution Benjamin Tolosa Jr. said at a Saturday News Forum that the presentations will depend on the progress of the hearings, with oral arguments on the two-thirds conviction threshold scheduled on Wednesday.

Tolosa said the Civil Service Commission witness would explain statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) filing guidelines, while the Securities and Exchange Commission representative would address companies in which Duterte declared financial interests.

Meanwhile, a witness from the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System and a representative of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. Regional Office XI’s bids and awards committee will be asked about government dealings involving the Vice President’s companies.

A representative from the Philippine National Police Firearms and Explosives Office would then address the firearms registered to Duterte and her husband.

Tolosa said the testimony of Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte aims to examine whether Gencorp Industries, a company identified in the Vice President’s SALN, had dealings with the city government.

The business records would also address allegations that Duterte failed to divest and participated in businesses while Vice President, he said.

The panel will also be seeking the Senate impeachment court to classify the Davao City Mayor as another hostile witness in the impeachment trial of his sister.

Once the younger Duterte is declared a hostile witness, the prosecution can ask him more ‘leading questions’ which can be answered by ‘yes or no,’ Tolosa said.

The impeachment court is currently discussing Article II of the Articles of Impeachment, which involves the alleged unexplained wealth of the Vice President.

Sub judice

Tolosa also said the Senate impeachment court should apply its sub judice rule equally to the Vice President over her statement that President Marcos controls senators.

He raised the issue after he and public prosecutor Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon were ordered to explain separate public statements being reviewed for possible violations of Rule 18.

Both have submitted their responses to the impeachment court.

Rule 18 requires the presiding officer, senators, prosecutors, the impeached official and their respective counsels to refrain from public comments and disclosures pertaining to the merits of a pending impeachment trial.

Tolosa said the prosecution was not seeking preferential treatment but wanted the same rule applied consistently to everyone it covers, including the Vice President.

In a Sept. 7 video message discussing her impeachment trial and other legal cases, Duterte told supporters that even if President Marcos controlled senators, prosecutors, judges and police, she had many lawyers helping her fight and win her cases.

‘That is an attack against the integrity of the impeachment court, to say that the President is controlling the senators,’ Tolosa said.