ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Diokno gives chill response to Pia Cayetano's 'Nagbabakasakali lng' tirade

Diokno gives chill response to Pia Cayetano's 'Nagbabakasakali lng' tirade

Published Jul 25, 2026 08:09 pm

At A Glance

  • Rep. Chel Diokno corrects Senator Pia Cayetano's video, clarifying his "fishing expedition" remark and stressing that the prosecution had probable cause based on AMLC records.
  • He emphasizes that bank records require a court subpoena, and the newly granted order allows both sides to use them without violating due process.
  • Diokno said the senator-judges can now decide based on the full evidence, with the financial records central to the case against Vice President Sara Duterte.
From left: Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno, Senator-judges Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano (Senate PRIB, Facebook)
From left: Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno, Senator-judges Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano (Senate PRIB, Facebook)


House prosecutor Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno felt compelled on Saturday night, July 25 to post a correction to the Facebook video uploaded by Senator-judge Pia Cayetano regarding the recent oral arguments that took place during Vice President Sara Duterte's Senate impeachment trial.
This was after House impeachment adviser and prosecution panel spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers aired his reservations about the video, which he described as "spliced" and "manipulated".
As expected, Diokno was very chill in his response--like the way he was during the oral arguments with Duterte's defense lawyer Michael Poa.
The oral arguments concerned the prosecution panel's subpoena request for respondent Duterte's bank and tax records, as well as Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) reports. Presiding officer Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero ended up granting the prosecution’s request, despite the repeated insistence of the defense lawyers that the pursuit of the financial records was a "fishing expedition".
But this didn't stop Pia Cayetano to lean into the defense's argument, as evidenced by her supplying the caption "Nagbabakasakali lng? Walang mga ebidensya pero nag aakusa na! (Taking a chance? Accusing without evidence!)" to the subject Facebook clip.
"With all due respect to the senator-judge at para hindi maligaw ang publiko, ito po ang konteksto at kumpleto na sinabi ko: '[Ang fishing expedition] ay maaaring sabihin nating nangyari kung only if the party requesting the evidence or documents ay nagbabakasakali lang, baka may makuha tayo dito,'” Diokno wrote.
(With all due respect to the senator-judge and to avoid misleading the public, here is the context and the complete statement I made:‘[A fishing expedition] can be said to happen only if the party requesting the evidence or documents is merely taking a chance, hoping to find something.)
At one point in the oral arguments, Pia Cayetano’s sibling, Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano, "debated" with Diokno on the fishing expedition argument.
"Linawin ko po: Hindi tayo nagbabakasakali lang. May probable cause o sapat na dahilan na nakita sa mga record ng Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) tungkol sa bilyun-bilyong dumaan sa accounts ng VP at kanyang asawa," the lawyer-legislator underscored.
(Let me clarify: We are not just taking a chance. There is probable cause or sufficient reason found in the records of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) regarding billions that passed through the accounts of the Vice President and her husband.)
The prosecution has said that the financial records were crucial to proving allegations of unexplained wealth against the Vice President.
"Tandaan: Ang bank records ay maaari lang mailabas kapag may utos o subpoena mula sa korte. Ibig sabihin, kung nabuksan ng Kamara ang mismong bank records bago ang trial, paglabag yan sa karapatan at due process ni VP Sara Duterte," the soft-spoken Diokno said.
(Remember: Bank records can only be released with a court order or subpoena. This means that if the House had opened the bank records before the trial, it would have violated the rights and due process of Vice President Sara Duterte.)
Moving forward, Diokno said the senator-judges themselves would now be better aided in their decision-making regarding Duterte’s fate.
"Ngayong may subpoena na para sa bank records ng Bise Presidente, magagamit ito ng magkabilang panig para patunayan ang kanilang kaso. Sa ganitong paraan, makakapagpasya ang mga senator-judges batay sa kabuuan ng ebidensya."
(Now that there is a subpoena for the Vice President’s bank records, both sides can use them to prove their case.In this way, the Senator-Judges can decide based on the entirety of the evidence.)

Related Tags

Chel Diokno Pia Cayetano Alan Peter Cayetano IMPEACHMENT Oral arguments Sara Duterte Robert Ace Barbers Facebook
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ static_articles_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.