ICYMI LIVE UPDATES: Sara Duterte Impeachment Trial (September 1, 2026)

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero on Tuesday emphasized during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte that the burden of proof never shifts from the prosecution.

Escudero said this after Senator-Judge Alan Peter Cayetano made an interjection, asking prosecution counsel Rey Robles whether there was any irregularity or fraud if the special disbursing officer transferred confidential funds to another person.

“For a senator-judge like me, it is important to know whether it was an irregularity wherein we should caution or reprimand, or whether it is automatically fraud. And also for non-lawyers, it would be good to know, at some point, whether there's a presumption that shifts,” Cayetano said.

“For example, the prosecution made it very clear at one point earlier on na kapagka hindi ma-account, nag si-shift na ‘yung burden. So that's very clear, di ba? So, halimbawa hindi na ma-account nag-shift ngayon sa prosecution. It's not a conclusive presumption, meaning they can show na hindi na-account,” he added.

(For example, the prosecution made it very clear at one point earlier that when it is not accounted for, the burden would shift. So that's very clear, right? So, for example, when it is not accounted for, the burden shifted now from the prosecution. It's not a conclusive presumption, meaning they can show that it is not accounted for.)

Escudero, however, clarified that the burden of proof never shifts from the prosecution.

“For the record, to clarify, the burden of proof never shifts. The burden of evidence may shift, but the burden of proof does not. The burden of proof still lies with the prosecution, but depending on how the issue is presented, the burden of evidence may shift, but the burden of proof never shifts,” the presiding officer said.

Robles maintained that under the joint circular governing confidential funds, the special disbursing officer is responsible for disbursing the funds and should not transfer it to another person who is not an accountable officer. — RSJ, GMA News

Colonel Magtanggol Panopio, a witness presented by the House prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, said Tuesday the "confidential" information provided by the Department of Education (DepEd) in relation to the conduct of youth activities may have included data on teenage pregnancy and the personal life of students.

Panopio said this on the 20th day of Duterte's impeachment trial, upon the interjection of senator-judge Sherwin Gatchalian, asking him what kind of confidential information was received from the DepEd for the conduct of Youth Leadership Summit (YLC) and Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) activities.

"I can speculate only, your Honor, maybe the personal circumstances like teenage pregnancies or other personal information na maging (that can be) confidential because it is their personal life," Panopio said.

Gatchalian clarified if such confidential information was about the personal life of the students.

"Yes, that's my example only, your Honor," Panopio answered. 

Defense counsel Michael Poa has stepped out of his role as the spokesperson of Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team in her impeachment trial amid his status as a witness, counsel Justin Nicol Gular said Tuesday.

“I think, for the defense team, I think it’s just proper that considering that Atty. Michael Poa ay isasalang po sa (will be put on the witness stand before the) impeachment court, common etiquette and proper decorum dictates… he needs to at the moment, step aside from serving as the defense team’s spokesperson,” he said.

The House prosecution panel is expected to call Poa as a witness on Wednesday.

Gular said he will serve as deputy spokesperson for the time being.

Introduced in June as one of the private prosecutors of the House for Duterte’s impeachment, Robles has a storied law career. 

After gaining a bachelor’s degree in Business Management with a minor in Economics at the University of the Philippines in 1986, Robles graduated cum laude and class valedictorian  at the Far Eastern University (FEU)  in 1990, placing 10th in that year’s bar examinations. 

He would later be a founder and managing partner at the famed law firm Chan Robles and Associates from 1993 to the present. 

Robles also currently serves as the President and CEO of the ChanRobles Lawnet Inc. and Chan Robles Professional Review Inc. 

Army Colonel Manaros Boransing II said Tuesday the certification issued to then Education Undersecretary Michael Poa was not meant to attest DepEd's use of confidential funds in 2023.

Boransing made the testimony during Day 20 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte during the questioning of Senator-Judge Risa Hontiveros.

Hontiveros asked Boransing if his certification serves as proof that DepEd appropriately disbursed its confidential funds, to which the latter replied, “No, Maam. The certification was [for] their (DepEd) and other stakeholders' participation in the Youth Leadership Summit and the Information Education Communication Campaign.”

Asked again by Hontiveros that if he means that he has no personal knowledge how the DepEd used its regular or confidential for Philippine Army activities, Boransing replied, “Yes, Your Honor. I do not have any personal knowledge.”

Senator-Judge Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Tuesday clarified that an alias may be used as a pseudonym for entertainment purposes, but if there is no actual person behind the name, it could be considered a “fictitious name” or “fake name.”

On the 20th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, Sotto cited Republic Act No. 6085, which regulates the use of aliases.

Philippine Army (PA) official Col. Manaros Boransing II took the witness stand on Tuesday after the Senate impeachment court ordered him to testify in Vice President Sara Duterte’s trial.

But who is Boransing, and why is he a witness?

Army Colonel Manaros Boransing II said Tuesday his unit did not receive any confidential fund from the Department of Education during the term of Vice President Sara Duterte as Education chief for the conduct eight Youth Leadership Seminar (YLS) in Mindanao provinces in 2023.

Boransing made the testimony during Day 20 of the impeachment trial of the Vice President as a witness for the prosecution.

He said that while they conducted the YLS with DepEd, he does not know how the agency paid for its expenses in the said seminar.

“I have no knowledge on [DepEd’s] source of funds. I can only speak for us,” Boransing said.

“There were no DepEd funds downloaded to our unit,” he added.

The Senate impeachment court said Tuesday the pictures circulating on social media supposedly showing hostile witness Lemuel Ortonio wearing an earpiece was generated with artificial intelligence (AI).

"Hindi totoo 'yung lumalabas na mga letrato na hindi umano mayroong earpiece si Mr. Ortonio. 'Yun po ay AI," the tribunal's presiding officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero said at the beginning of Day 20 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

(The photos circulating that supposedly show Mr. Ortonio without an earpiece are fake. They were AI-generated.)

"What he had was… an ear piercing in the front fold helix of his ear. Not an earpiece," he added.