LIVE UPDATES: Sara Duterte Impeachment Trial (July 22, 2026)

The House prosecution panel on Wednesday, July 22, concluded its presentation on Article 4, which accuses Vice President Sara Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, high crimes, and betraying public trust by contracting for the alleged assassination of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and others.

The panel’s presentation concluded with National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag serving as its last witness.

The House prosecution panel on Wednesday opposed a supposed request by the Office of Vice President Sara Duterte for catered meals for her defense lawyers and staff during the impeachment trial to be paid for by the Senate.

“I find it highly improper kasi may opisina din naman ang ating Pangalawang Pangulo and they can actually charge all those expenses to their office,” House Deputy Speaker Janette Garin said at a press briefing.

(I find it highly improper because our Vice President has her own office, and they can actually charge all those expenses to their office.)

Garin, however, said the House prosecution panel respects the defense team’s right to request its own catering arrangements, while noting that the prosecution had made no similar request to the Senate.

The Senate impeachment court has approved the issuance of new subpoenas for two former branch managers of Land Bank of the Philippines to appear on the resumption of the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte next Wednesday, July 29.

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Senator-Judge Francis “Chiz” Escudero announced this on Day 9 of the trial, ordering the clerk of court to issue a subpoena to former Landbank Shaw Boulevard branch manager Violeta Constantino and former Landbank DepEd branch manager Nenita Camposano.

They are set to be presented by the House prosecution panel in the trial to testify on Article I of the Articles of Impeachment, which concerns Duterte’s alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds—P500 million from the Office of the Vice President and P112.5 million from the Department of Education.

House Lead Prosecutor Gerville Luistro said that Constantino will be presented first, followed by Camposano.

Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, the lead prosecutor in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, said it was the prosecution's job to establish the case against the respondent, adding that it would be more irregular if the panel were neutral.

Luistro said this in a news conference after Senator-Judge Robin Padilla said in the impeachment court that the prosecution should not be "one-sided" after Luistro said convictions were only grounds for disqualification if they were already final and involved crimes punishable by one year in prison.

Private prosecutor Atty. Lorna Kapunan, on the other hand, apologized to Padilla, admitting that she was one of those who reacted in court after the senator-judge said the prosecution should not be skewed in citing the rules.

Padilla apparently took exception to the reactions and pointed them out to the presiding officer, Senator-Judge Francis Escudero.

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Wednesday recommended to the Defense and Prosecution panels to consider nominating respective spokespersons who are not limited by the rules of the court. 

Escudero said that while Defense team spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa and House prosecution team spokesperson Atty. Benjamin Tolosa Jr. have both been “very careful” in their statements, both are registered counsel for their respective teams.

“As the trial goes on, it might take its toll with respect to the spokesperson and counsels at the same time being able to distinguish within the merits of the case and purely procedural observations or facts,” Escudero said on Day 9 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Senator-Judge Panfilo Lacson clarified Wednesday that he did not file any perjury case against former Davao senior police officer Arturo Lascañas, a self-confessed member of the Davao Death Squad (DDS).

Lacson made the manifestation of the 9th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, when defense counsel Mark Vinluan showed a 2017 news article during the cross-examination of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag, which read that a Senate panel recommended filing of a perjury case against Lascañas.

“Indeed, I will confirm that Arturo Lascañas retracted and changed his testimony. After several hearings, nag-retract siya. But hindi po ako nag-file ng perjury. Gusto ko lang i-correct ‘yun,” Lacson said.

(Indeed, I will confirm that Arturo Lascañas retracted and changed his testimony. After several hearings, he retracted. But I did not file a perjury. I just want to correct this.)

He explained that he only recommended in the committee report that the Revised Penal Code be amended, specifically the section on the crime of perjury.

Lacson previously chaired the Senate public order committee which investigated the drug-related deaths and alleged extrajudicial killings during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag on Wednesday said the alleged harassment of Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro in Vancouver earlier this month was an example of the so-called “kinetic force” supposedly generated by Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged threats.

Matibag made the statement on the ninth day of Duterte’s impeachment trial after defense counsel Mark Vinluan asked whether the incident in Canada was part of the “kinetic force”—a term the NBI chief used to describe how Duterte’s alleged threats could influence others to make similar threats or take action.

The House prosecution panel will no longer conduct a redirect examination for National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag, its witness in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, lead prosecutor Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said Wednesday.

“The prosecution finds it unnecessary to conduct redirect,” Luistro said.

Vice President Sara Duterte “consummated betrayal of public trust" when she said publicly that she hired someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and others if she were killed, Director Melvin Matibag said Wednesday.

“The betrayal of public trust was already been consummated when she publicly admitted -- there is already an admission — that she contracted a killer, mamamatay-tao or assassin to kill the president,” Matibag said on Day 9 of the impeachment trial.

“That itself is an admission…Why? Because the oath of the Office of the Vice President, sabi nya she will execute the law and do justice to every man. So kapag nagbalak kang pumatay at ginawa mo yan that is no justice to every man. It’s not execute the law but execute the president ang gusto mong gawin dyan,” he added.

The reservations raised by some senator-judges over the issuance of subpoenas for the bank, tax, and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) records of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio, will have no legal effect on the Senate impeachment court's ruling, its spokesperson said Wednesday.

Impeachment court spokesperson Atty. Regie Tongol made the statement in a Balitanghali interview, referring to the separate written manifestations filed by senator-judges Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Loren Legarda, Imee Marcos, and Camille Villar.