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'Humble tayo': Prosecutors say they did 'good' in first week of VP Sara trial
Philippines
National
'Humble tayo': Prosecutors say they did 'good' in first week of VP Sara trial
'Humble tayo': Prosecutors say they did 'good' in first week of VP Sara trial
Published Jul 9, 2026 04:39 pm
At A Glance
- Prosecutors assess their first week in Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial as "good," noting NBI agent John Mark Calilung's testimony held firm under defense questioning.
- Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora and spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers stress the trial is only beginning, with more witnesses including NBI official Attorney Jeremy Lotoc set to appear.
- Rep. Rodge Gutierrez cautions against treating motions and objections like a scorecard, emphasizing that the trial should be judged by the strength and clarity of evidence and testimony.
Private prosecutor, lawyer Amando Virgil Ligutan. Ligutan is one of the 15 private prosecutors under the House prosecution panel in Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial. (Senate PRIB)
The House prosecution panel in Vice President Sara Duterte's Senate impeachment trial went the humble path and said that it fared "good" during the first week of the proceedings.
Speaking in a press conference after the conclusion of the third day of the trial at the Senate Wednesday, July 8, solon-prosecutor San Juan City lone district Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora said the panel was satisfied with how it has presented its case so far.
However, she stopped short of claiming that the prosecutors had gained the upper hand this early in the trial.
“No, I wouldn’t say that [we gained the upper hand], but I would say that it was a good week for the prosecution,” Zamora said.
In a subsequent presser at the House of Representatives Thursday, the San Juan lawmaker noted that they haven't even completed its presentation on the grave threats article in the articles of impeachment.
“Umpisa pa lang po ito (This is just the beginning),” Zamora said.
Zamora said the prosecution’s first witness, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Senior Agent John Mark Calilung, did not waver even as defense lawmakers tried to weaken his testimony on the authenticity of respondent Duterte’s infamous "death threat" video.
"In the coming weeks, meron pa po tayong ibang witnesses, ang susunod naman po ay na-announce na at yun din po ay isa pang NBI official, yun po si Attorney [Jeremy] Lotoc, which we will present on Monday," she said.
(In the coming weeks, we will have other witnesses, and the next one has already been announced. There will also be another NBI official, Attorney Jeremy Lotoc, whom we will present on Monday.)
House impeachment adviser and prosecution panel spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers has likewise gave a tempered assessment of the prosecutors' performance.
“Umpisa pa lang naman ng ‘boxing’, ika nga. Kumbaga kung sa basketball, first quarter pa lang ito,” Barbers said.
(This is just the start of the boxing bout, so to speak. In terms of basketball, we're still in the first quarter.)
As such, the prosecution team has underscored the need to keep its energy up in what is expected to be a protracted trial.
Keeping score
Another solon-prosecutor in 1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez acknowledged the public's tendency to keep score based on sustained or overruled motions or objections. However, this should not be the case.
“In addition to that, and I think we’ve noticed that since day one...if we look at public perception, naging tally na ‘yung nangyayari dito, nagbibilangan ng puntos kumbaga (they're turning it into a tally, they're counting the points),” Gutierrez pointed out.
“But I think it's very important to remember that this is not the process — the whole process of impeachment trial. It's not about ‘yung paramihan ng mga motion that was granted, or paramihan ng mga puntos na binibilang ng ating mga kababayan na nanonood,” he said.
(It’s not about the number of motions that were granted, or the number of points being counted by our fellow citizens who are watching.)
Rather than focusing on these, Gutierrez noted that the impeachment trial should be judged by the quality of the arguments, the relevance of the questions asked, and the evidence and testimony that withstand examination and cross-examination.
“It's actually about the quality of the questions that are being asked…The question really ultimately is whether or not, at the end of the day, evidence is left standing. So it's all about whether the foundation of the evidence is set, is laid out properly, and that the evidence is laid out in a clearly understood manner,” he explained.