Context Dispatch

The Senate impeachment court on Monday elected Senator Francis Escudero as presiding officer in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, prevailing in a 12-4 vote despite objections that the move could face constitutional scrutiny. Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Pia Cayetano argued that the 1987 Constitution requires the Senate President, now Senator Win Gatchalian, a non-lawyer, preside over impeachment trials except when the President is the respondent. The siblings warned that naming another senator could invite legal challenges, noting that a petition questioning the designation of a presiding officer has already been filed before the Supreme Court by Alan Peter Cayetano.

Senator Rodante Marcoleta surrendered to the Sandiganbayan on Monday and is now under police custody after the anti-graft court issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with a non-bailable plunder case over the alleged nondisclosure of P75 million in campaign contributions. Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla personally supervised the warrant's implementation at the court. Former congressman Mike Defensor and two businessmen named as co-accused have yet to be arrested. The case marks a major escalation in one of the country's highest-profile corruption cases, with the Sandiganbayan finding probable cause to proceed with the charges while Marcoleta continues to enjoy the presumption of innocence.

The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan on Monday issued arrest warrants against Senator Rodante Marcoleta, former Congressman Mike Defensor, and two others just days after the Ombudsman filed plunder complaint over P75 million in unreported campaign contributions. Plunder is a non-bailable crime, which could rob Marcoleta of participation in the impeachment trial of his ally, Vice President Sara Duterte, which starts late Monday. The Ombudsman had also charged the four of alleged violation of Presidential Decree No. 46, which prohibits public officials from receiving gifts. The court also issued a Hold Departure Order against the four.

House prosecutors and private lawyers handling the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte attended a "Mass for Truth, Justice and Accountability" at the Cubao Cathedral on Thursday, days before the Senate convenes as an impeachment court on July 6. Lead prosecutor and House Justice Committee Chair Gerville Luistro said the prosecution is fully prepared for trial. Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan said the prosecution has lined up 57 witnesses, compared with more than 20 for the defense. Following the impeachment court's pre-trial order, prosecutors will first present the article involving Duterte's alleged threats against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez. The VP is the only official to be impeached twice; her trial last year was stopped by the Supreme Court.

Thousands of members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC), clad in white shirts bearing the words "Accountability" and "Transparency," gathered Monday at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila and the EDSA People Power Monument, causing heavy traffic as they protested the plunder case filed against Senator Rodante Marcoleta and his reported impending arrest. In a statement, the religious group said it was not opposing the enforcement of the law but objecting to what it described as its selective application to conceal corruption. The INC claimed the case was intended to silence Marcoleta's anti-corruption campaign, declaring that "selective justice is injustice."