Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Malacañang respects the court’s decision to issue a warrant of arrest against Vice President Sara Duterte over three counts of grave threats, Palace Press Officer and Undersecretary Claire Castro said on Friday.

‘The Palace respects any decision or order issued by the court,’ Castro said in a Viber message to reporters.

Duterte’s lawyer Paul Lawrence Lim announced that Branch 98 of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court had issued a warrant of arrest against the vice president.

‘Today, the Quezon City RTC has issued a warrant of arrest against the Vice President. Regardless of the question on jurisdiction, she has no intention of evading the law and will continue to exercise all her legal remedies,’ it read.

Lim is Duterte’s counsel in the grave threats case filed by the National Bureau of Investigation in connection with her remarks during an online press briefing on Nov. 23, 2024.

During the forum, Duterte said she had spoken to someone and instructed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez should be killed if she would be assassinated.

Senators have discussed the possibility of lowering the 16-vote conviction threshold for Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial due to the absence of four of their colleagues.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said on Thursday that the issue was raised during a caucus held the previous day.

‘There are some senators that have questioned the threshold and it may come up sooner or later,’ Zubiri said in a press conference. ‘There are those who are detained, one is at large. So I think that’s the issue now.’

He was referring to Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta, both detained on plunder charges, and Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, a fugitive facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.

A fourth, Sen. Loren Legarda, is abroad on medical leave.

Zubiri noted that the Senate ‘still had a complete state’ when Sen. Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero, the impeachment court’s presiding officer, made the 16-vote ruling in July.

‘That issue has to be answered soon enough by the presiding officer,’ he said.

Constitutional provision

On July 6, the first day of Duterte’s impeachment trial, Escudero declared that conviction will still require at least 16 votes from senator-judges.

He made the pronouncement in his opening statement where he tackled the threshold questions that will guide the conduct of the proceedings and rulings.

‘The Charter provides that the Senate shall be composed of 24 senators, without a tinge of doubt, two-thirds of the figure or not less than 16 members, is an unquestionable compliance with the requisite number of votes mentioned in Section 21 of Article 7,’ said Escudero.

‘It behooves, therefore, all of us, to observe the same fidelity to the Constitution, in this trial, which affects not only the mere ratification of a treaty, but more so affects the substantial rights of the respondent, as well as the sovereign will of the people as expressed in the overwhelming mandate given to her,’ he added.

Public debate

Escudero also said those who disagree with the threshold can seek judicial relief with the Supreme Court.

While no one among the senator-judges challenged it then, questions over the conviction threshold have persisted as the number of senator-judges decreased over the course of the trial due to legal or medical reasons.

Zubiri said the best way to resolve the issue would be to debate it publicly.

He added that should the Senate decide to change the threshold, it was expected that it would be challenged before the high court.

Focus on evidence

In various interviews, lawyers Jay Tolosa and San Juan Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora of the House prosecution panel, along with spokesperson and former Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, said the team was not entertaining the idea of pushing to lower the threshold.

‘Our position on this has been consistent from the very start. We don’t engage in vote counting. At the end of the day, our priority here is to establish an airtight case. We will ensure that, with our case, this will be backed by solid evidence,’ Tolosa said.

‘So that when the trial ends, regardless of what will be the final interpretation of the two-thirds threshold, we will get these numbers. So that is the priority of the prosecution from the start, and it remains to be our priority until now,’ he added.

Nuance in interpretation

Former Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) president Domingo Cayosa, however, said earlier that the threshold may be lowered to reflect who among the 24 senator-judges were present to participate in the trial.

Cayosa said this would be the ‘fair and practical’ reading of the 1987 Constitution as it is in accordance with the spirit of the Charter, which is ‘not restrictive.’

The operative concept, he added, that ties such an interpretation is the word ‘two-thirds of all members of the Senate.’

‘[Estrada, Dela Rosa, and Marcoleta] are all alive and are not yet unseated by any of the constitutionally allowed modes of removal, so they are still senators,’ Cayosa said. ‘Except when they transform themselves into an impeachment court, they all become judges.’

He pointed out that this is where the nuance in interpreting the constitutional provision comes in ‘because how can you be a judge when you were not there, [and] you did not observe and participate.’

‘But if one is on the side of the defense,’ he added, a ‘simple and strictly literal’ reading of the Charter would put the voting threshold at 16.

Last month, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon said only the impeachment court can decide on the number of votes needed to convict Duterte.

Our perspective on that is that, in the end, it is not for the prosecution or defense to determine the threshold. It is for them. It is for the senator-judges to make that determination,’ he said.

House of Representatives prosecutor and Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said that the criminal case against Vice President Sara Duterte is separate from her impeachment proceedings, noting that the prosecution panel will continue to press on.

Ridon on Friday said that the arrest warrant against Duterte is ‘not, by itself, a determination of guilt’ and that the vice president ‘will have every opportunity to present her defenses before the proper court.’

‘The impeachment proceedings are a separate constitutional accountability process. The Senate impeachment court will independently determine the matters properly before it,’ he said.

Ridon made the statement as Duterte’s lawyer announced that a warrant of arrest was issued by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court this Friday over Duterte’s grave threats case before the National Bureau of Investigation.

He said the prosecution team took note of Duterte’s counsel’s statement, saying that the vice president has no intention of evading the law and will avail herself of the legal remedies available to her.

Duterte’s warrant came as her impeachment trial before the Senate is ongoing. In her impeachment trial, the vice president is likewise accused of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust for allegedly making kill threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, among others

The older one of the two teenage suspects in the recent deadly school shooting incident in Tacloban City is facing additional criminal charges despite his young age, according to an official of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Justice Undersecretary Ian Norman Dato on Thursday said Tacloban City prosecutors had ordered the filing of frustrated murder and attempted murder charges against the 15-year-old boy who was determined to have ‘acted with discernment’ when he brought a gun to the school and opened fire.

The boy is one of the two Grade 9 students tagged as the shooters in the attack that killed three fellow students and wounded 20 others at San Jose National High School on June 22.

Murder raps

The upcoming filings against the 15-year-old are on top of the five cases-for three counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder-earlier filed against him on July 13 at the family court of the Tacloban Regional Trial Court.

‘Our prosecutors found that he acted with discernment and in conspiracy with a second minor,’ Dato said in a press briefing.

Under the amended Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, a child between 15 and 18 years of age shall be exempted from criminal liability unless he or she acted with discernment based on the findings of the prosecutors during preliminary investigation.

The other minor is aged 14 and considered exempt from criminal liability under the law.

Both minors, classified in legal parlance as children in conflict with the law, have since been placed in a rehabilitation center of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Bail recommended

As to the new charges against the 15-year-old, the prosecutors recommended bail at P72,000 each for four counts of frustrated murder and P36,000 each for three counts of attempted murder, Dato said.

Meanwhile, the aunt of the 14-year-old student, Police Staff Sergeant Arla Ray Paciencia, is facing charges for reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and physical injuries, for allowing her government-issued 9mm Glock 17 pistol to be accessed by her nephew and used in the campus schooting.

Paciencia, who has since been relieved of police duty, earlier told a Senate inquiry in July that her nephew broke into her house and stole her gun, which she said was kept in a ‘plastic locker.’

While the arrest order issued against Vice President Sara Duterte for charges of grave threats does not indicate guilt yet, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said that courts do not make such decisions without finding probable cause.

Adiong, in a statement on Friday, said that due process must be observed at each phase of the legal process.

However, he said that the determination of probable cause has already been made-which is why a warrant of arrest was issued by a Quezon City court.

‘The issuance of an arrest warrant is not a finding of guilt. Due process must be observed at every stage,’ he said.

‘A court, however, does not issue a warrant without probable cause. That determination has now been made,’ he pointed out.

According to the lawmaker, every legal remedy must be made available to Duterte, but she should avail of those remedies within the court, and not outside it.

‘The vice president remains entitled to every legal remedy available under the law. Those remedies should be pursued through the courts, not outside them,’ Adiong said.

‘The rule of law applies equally to all,’ he noted.

Aside from Adiong, Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said that the arrest order only shows that whatever spin the Duterte camp may do, the Vice President really made threats against ranking officials.

‘VP Sara’s threat speaks for itself. Kahit paikut-ikutin o daanin sa mga palusot, napakalinaw ng pagbabanta,’ De Lima said.

(VP Sara’s threat speaks for itself. Even if they spin this the other way or make excuses, the presence of a threat is clear.)

‘Ang paglalabas ng warrant of arrest ng korte ay nangangahulugan na matapos nitong suriin ang ebidensyang nasa record, nakitaan ito ng sapat na dahilan upang litisin ang Bise Presidente,’ she added.

(The court’s decision to release an arrest order means that after it assessed the evidence on record, it saw enough reason to try the Vice President.)

According to De Lima, Duterte has no choice but to comply with the court’s requirements.

‘VP Sara may not be used to being held accountable, but now she must answer the accusations against her in a criminal court. Hindi na nga dapat tumagal ito (This has dragged longer than it should), but at least it’s finally happening,’ she added.

Three counts

Earlier, Duterte’s lawyer Paul Lawrence Lim said in a statement that the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 98 has issued an arrest order against Duterte for three counts of grave threats.

This covers the supposed threat she made against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Lim is the Vice president’s counsel in the grave threats charges filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

‘Today, the Quezon City RTC has issued a warrant of arrest against the Vice President,’ Lim said in a statement.

‘Regardless of the question on jurisdiction, she has no intention of evading the law and will continue to exercise all her legal remedies,’ he added.

A photo of the arrest order issued by Branch 98 Presiding Judge Maria Angelica de Ramos showed that bail was set at P120,000 for each of the three counts of grave threats, or a total of P360,000.

The NBI cases stemmed from Duterte’s threats against the president, the first lady, and the former House Speaker during an online press briefing on Nov. 23, 2024.

As she criticized the House for detaining her chief of staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, Duterte went to berate the First Couple and Romualdez.

In the same briefing, Duterte was told by a vlogger to take care as she may be in danger.

The vice president replied by urging people not to worry as she has talked with a person about killing the Marcos couple and Romualdez if she herself would get killed.

‘Do not worry about my security because I already spoke to someone. I said, ‘If I am killed, kill BBM, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez.’ No joke. No joke,’ Duterte said in the briefing.

The same matter has been the subject of the impeachment complaints against Duterte, which eventually was included in the Articles of Impeachment transmitted to the Senate last May 13.

The alleged threats were included as Article IV, which the House prosecution panel has finished tackling.

The defense panel for Duterte’s impeachment has maintained that Duterte’s statements were part of free speech.

But the prosecution team believes her remarks constituted grave threats – regardless of whether or not the vice president executed a contract with an assassin to kill the three.

Motorists may have to brace for another steep increase in fuel prices next week, while former Public Works Secretary Manuel ‘Manny’ Bonoan has been released from police custody and Filipina tennis star Alex Eala continues her impressive US Open run.

After this week’s pump price cuts, fuel retailers are expected to implement another wave of hefty increases of up to P5 per liter next week due to renewed attacks in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Bonoan has been released from police custody following Sandiganbayan’s order issued Thursday.

In sports, Eala, advanced to the US Open third round after defeating Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova, 6-1, 6-4, marking her first appearance in the tournament’s third round.

Sen. Loren Legarda is pushing for a permanent fuel-security framework that would allow the government to closely monitor the fuel market and act quickly when prices and supply are threatened by a crisis.

Legarda filed Senate Bill No. 2435, or the proposed Philippine Fuel Security and Strategic Petroleum Reserve Act, on Sept. 1. The measure would strengthen regular monitoring and verification while giving the government temporary powers during a declared fuel emergency.

The proposal follows issues raised during the recent oil crisis and Senate PROTECT Committee hearings involving fuel inventories, actual acquisition costs, industry margins and the basis for price adjustments.

‘During the hearings, we saw how quickly prices could rise, while the government and the public had limited information on the actual cost of fuel already in the country, existing inventories, industry margins and the basis for each adjustment,’ Legarda said.

‘Families felt the increase immediately, but many basic questions could not be answered with the same speed,’ she added.

Oil companies explained during the hearings that pump prices may be based on replacement cost, or the expected cost of the next shipment, even when fuel being sold had been acquired earlier at a lower price.

The government, however, did not always have ready access to records needed to independently verify the costs and margins involved.

‘We are not saying that companies should not earn. But when there is a crisis and prices are rising quickly, the government should be able to determine whether the increase is reasonable or whether someone is profiting excessively while families are tightening their belts,’ Legarda said.

‘No one should take unfair advantage during a crisis,’ she added.

Under the bill, the Department of Energy (DOE) would continuously monitor fuel supply, inventories, acquisition and landed costs, price movements, distribution and market behavior.

When verification is needed, the DOE may require contracts, invoices, bills of lading, import entries and documents covering freight, insurance, storage and hauling costs.

The authority would apply even without a declared emergency but would be limited to monitoring, verification, planning, consumer protection and enforcement.

The bill states that this would not amount to ordinary price control, while commercially sensitive information would have to remain confidential.

‘Monitoring is different from regulating. During normal times, the DOE needs to know the true state of supply, costs and prices,’ Legarda said.

‘When a crisis comes, only then may clear, limited and temporary powers be used to protect the public,’ she added.

During a declared fuel emergency, the DOE may impose temporary pricing and supply measures, including price or margin limits, priority allocation for essential services, inventory requirements, distribution directives and emergency procurement.

The agency may also limit, adjust, suspend or require verification of replacement-cost pricing when its continued use is likely to result in premature price increases, delayed rollbacks, excessive margins or market abuse.

An emergency pricing method may instead consider actual acquisition cost, average inventory cost, landed cost, reasonable logistics expenses and reasonable margins.

The measure also seeks to address questions raised during the hearings over additional government revenues when higher fuel prices increase value-added tax and other fuel-related collections.

It would require the publication of a Fuel Tax Transparency Report comparing actual collections with official revenue assumptions.

‘As prices rise and families can afford less, it should also be clear how much additional revenue the government is collecting,’ Legarda said.

‘The public deserves to know whether the government is receiving windfall collections from the same crisis that is causing them hardship,’ she added.

If substantial additional or windfall collections are identified, the Department of Finance and the Department of Budget and Management would be required to recommend appropriate relief.

Possible measures include temporary fuel-tax reductions, public transport support, assistance for farmers and fisherfolk, food logistics or disaster response.

The bill would also create a Strategic Petroleum Reserve for major national supply disruptions and a Government Operational Fuel Reserve to keep essential services running.

The DOE would lead the program, while the Philippine National Oil Co. would serve as the state’s fuel-security agent.

‘We should not repeat in the next crisis the same search for data, disputes over the basis of prices and scramble for separate responses,’ Legarda said

‘We have seen where the gaps lie. This bill puts the information, safeguards, emergency powers, tax accountability and fuel reserves into one permanent system,’ she added.

Nxled turned back Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, 25-20, 31-33, 25-17, 25-22, to stay in finals contention in the PVL Invitational Conference on Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Jonah Sabete-Escamillan continued to display an all-around game with 18 points, 20 excellent receptions, and 15 digs. Myla Pablo also scored 18, highlighted by five blocks, while MJ Phillips chipped in 17 points.

Gel Cayuna dished out 35 excellent sets, as EJ Laure-Cariño had 16 points and 24 excellent receptions, while Jackie Acuña added 12, as Nxled tied PLDT at 2-2.

Nxled, which battles Farm Fresh on Sunday at 1:30 p.m., holds the tie-break advantage with seven points ahead of PLDT’s six.

Hours after a five-set meltdown to EST Cola on Thursday night when they blew a 20-12 lead in the fourth set, the Chameleons squandered another big lead against the Vietnamese, who erased their 19-10 margin and cut it down to one, 22-21, after Dang Thi Kim Thanh’s kill.

Nxled Chameleons during a game vs Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City in the PVL Invitational Conference. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Phillips and Escamillan refused to suffer the same heartbreak, closing out the game with three points including two quick attacks from the former.

‘We love to fight because the last game was a five set and it was only a few hours ago. It was really tough and we wanted immediately to show that we never back down, we are not broken, we will never be broken after a losing match and we are ready to fight,’ said Nxled coach Ettore Guidetti.

‘Obviously, there are bad things and good things. The good thing is this one: we never give up. The bad thing is that we are developing the side out, but we can do even better because sometimes, I joke about this, our side out is kind of bipolar or we play like a super great team or we get scared and under pressure and nothing works, and so it’s a part of the mental game that we have to really develop.’

Dang led the Vietnamese with 15 points and 15 digs. The 16-year-old Ho Thi Bich Diep had 13 points, while Dao Thi Nhung added 11.

Ho Chi Minh bombed out of finals contention with a 1-3 record.

‘I’mPerfect’ director Sigrid Bernardo came to the defense of her actors with Down syndrome amid criticism questioning their acting awards and nominations.

The filmmaker spoke about this through her Facebook page on Thursday, Sept. 3, admitting that she is ‘scared to celebrate’ her own actors because of the hurtful remarks they receive whenever ‘I’mPerfect’ earns recognition.

Citing the film’s 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival best picture and best ensemble accolades as well as the best actress win of lead star Krystel Go, Bernardo said, ‘I was so proud of her, of everyone. After carrying this film since 2009, I thought, finally. They’re being seen the way they deserve to be seen.’

‘But no. Tapos mababasa mo mga comments na ganito: ‘Bakit mananalo ang isang mongoloid kaysa sa beteranang aktres?’; ‘Sarili lang naman niya ang ginagampanan niya’; ‘PITY vote,’; ‘Puro retarded naman ang pelikulang ‘yan,’ Nakaka-pu*******.’

‘Because I was there. The entire team was there. Krystel and Earl [Jonathan Amaba] didn’t have years of film experience. They had two months,’ she stressed.

Bernardo noted that aside from acting, the two lead stars along with the other cast members had to learn filmmaking within that short period.

‘We had other actors with Down syndrome, and extras with autism, cerebral palsy, and other disabilities. We wanted them to represent themselves to show their abilities, not their disabilities,’ she underscored.

Just recently, ‘I’mPerfect’ was announced as one of the films shortlisted as contenders to become the Philippines’ official entry to the 2027 Oscars Best International Feature Film category. Go and Amaba, meanwhile, were nominated for the top acting honors at the 49th Gawad Urian Awards.

‘I should be celebrating. Pero ang hirap hirap lang talaga because I’m still seeing the same comments,’ Bernardo lamented. ‘They can work twice as hard, prove themselves again and again, and still be reduced to their disability.’

‘How much more do they have to prove before it’s enough? Kailan ba magiging sapat?’ she asked.

She also lamented how she was more affected by the criticism than the actors, because they had already grown accustomed to such cruel remarks.

‘What mattered to them was finally seeing themselves on the big screen. Not as a diagnosis. Not as someone people should feel sorry for,’ Bernardo said.

‘They were Krystel playing Jessica and Earl playing Jiro. So criticize the film, my direction, the script, their performances. That’s part of the job. But they did not ‘just play themselves,” she stressed. ‘Hindi awa ang pinaghirapan nila. Trabaho. Tapang. Talento.’

Bernardo continued, ‘I didn’t cast them out of pity. I cast them because I saw actors. I believed they could do the job. And they f****** did.’

Concluding her post, Bernardo reminded the public, ‘So the next time you see an actor with a disability on screen, see the actor first. Watch the performance. Judge the work. Applaud the talent. Don’t give them pity. Give them the same respect you give every other actor.’ ‘I’mPerfect’ follows the love story of Go’s Jessica and Amaba’s Jiro, who defy the odds to prove that their love is real.

Eight years after he had to give up his Asian Games spot to Jordan Clarkson, Don Trollano now gets his opportunity to play for Gilas Pilipinas in the continental meet.

Trollano will come into the Aichi-Nagoya edition as one of the elder statesmen of the all-PBA team that aims to defend the gold starting next week.

‘I’m honored and blessed. Excited at the same time,’ the San Miguel Beer deadshot said from Suwon, South Korea during a virtual press conference arranged by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.

Clarkson’s entry to the Gilas fold during the Jakarta Asian Games forced then-coach Yeng Guiao to make Trollano his last cut, thus denying him a chance to represent the national team for the first time.

The situation also prompted Guiao to call Trollano as ‘Don Clarkson,’ a nickname that he’s sometimes called even today.

‘Last time naudlot,’ he said. ‘But this is my first time with Gilas. Last time, I was one of the youngest. Now I’m probably the oldest.’

The 34-year-old will look to provide veteran steadiness, as well as carry his form from the PBA Governors’ Cup in which he’s currently San Miguel’s top local scorer.

His cut from 2018 is far from Trollano’s motivation going into the Asian Games.

‘We’re the defending champions, and that’s extra motivation for us to retain the gold,’ Trollano said.