My apologies for missing last Monday’s newsletter as I took a short break.
This week is the start of the public interviews of five aspirants to the post of chief justice, which will be vacated by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo on November 6. He is retiring after over five years since he was appointed by then-president Rodrigo Duterte.
It’s President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first and only chance of choosing the head of the High Tribunal, which is packed with Duterte appointees, before he steps down in 2028. Two of the aspirants, Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen and Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, were appointed to the Court by the late president Noynoy Aquino. The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) will hold public interviews with both on Thursday, October 22.
The three other aspirants — Duterte appointees associate justices Rodil Zalameda, Japar Dimaampao, and Jose Midas Marquez — will be interviewed by the JBC on October 26.
With a Supreme Court in transition, we can’t expect it to rule on anything that could potentially shuffle the appointing power’s deck of cards.
Which is why, from a purely tactical point of view, it does make sense for the prosecution in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte to have made a bombshell bet last week — “all in,” in the words of lead prosecutor Jinky Luistro — by dropping all but one of the four articles of impeachment it lodged against her before the Senate impeachment court.
Unlike last year, when the Court saved the day for the Vice President by barring the first attempt to put her on trial, the defense could feel the winds shifting. “As for certiorari (before the Supreme Court), we are not considering it at this point,” said defense spokesperson Michael Poa in this story.
- It’s the handwriting on the wall. In August, the SC dismissed two petitions, including one filed by Duterte herself, that questioned the impeachment proceedings against her, saying they were already moot since the trial had already proceeded.
- A month later, Duterte lost the second time around, when the justices unanimously dismissed a petition against the Senate court’s decision to adjust the voting threshold to convict the Vice President.
- On Day 39 of the trial last week, House prosecutors dropped three complaints against her — misuse of confidential funds, grave threats, and bribery — in a legal maneuver that upset the defense and made lead counsel Sheila Sison bristle with a staccato of qualms and unease. This should not tie our hands, she told the impeachment court.
- The prosecution’s move partly stemmed from its reading of the defense’s strategy, which, they say, is to delay the proceedings and bore the public to death. Prosecutors believe they have gained momentum from their latest witness, accountant-lawyer Alex Cabrera, and wanted to go for the kill, so to speak.
- Presiding officer Senator Chiz Escudero issued a quick decision that sided with the prosecution, thus retaining just one charge to be judged by the senator-judges: Duterte’s estimated P1.5-billion unexplained wealth, per Cabrera’s numbers.
- Who benefits from this situation? In this story, political reporter Dwight de Leon tells us who, plus the fact that timing is already pretty tight, given the 2027 budget that needs to be passed and Manila’s hosting of the ASEAN Summit in mid-November.
For now, the impeachment court is on recess until November 9, when it’s the defense’s turn to present its case. What would the defense’s counter move be? Possibly two things, according to lawyer Lulu Reyes, Rappler’s resident panelist in our coverage of the trial. Watch it here.
- The defense could seek an outright dismissal of all the articles of impeachment and no longer present its arguments, citing a mistrial.
- It could file a demurrer to evidence with the impeachment court, a plea to dismiss the case because the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence, i.e., Cabrera’s “false assumptions.”
Either way could force an early vote from the senator-judges, according to Reyes.
Truly a sui generis. Spin a win!
Here are some of Rappler’s bests that you shouldn’t miss:
Bea Cupin features the Philippine Navy’s ambitions as it shores up its capabilities to defend our waters. Part 1 tackles the Navy’s drones, dreams, and endless possibilities. Part 2 looks into the opportunities and challenges in the military’s path to modernization.
Shay Du tells us how the military’s structure has adapted to its plans to modernize.
Lourence Angelo Marcellana walks us through the armed forces’ modernization program. The latest proof of how the military is changing is the appointment of the first female officer to be the commandant of cadets at the Philippine Military Academy, as Mia Fokno writes in this story.
Eirene Manatlao looks into why Filipino women are opting out of motherhood. But can an aging Philippines avoid the fate of its neighbors? Read this report by Jake Gomez.
Shay Du shows us the peril of postponing, yet again, the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
Taj Basman and Kat Tolosa explain why subsea cables are not the Philippines’ weakest link in its commitment to keep internet infrastructure resilient to attacks and accidents.
Gelo Gonzales introduces us to Maria Ressa’s latest book, The Fight Back: A Citizen’s Guide to Standing Up to Dictators, which talks about practical steps for citizens to reclaim control over the technologies shaping societies and the future.
Rappler’s Best is a weekly Rappler+ exclusive newsletter of our top picks delivered straight to your inbox every Monday. Visit rappler.com/newsletters to subscribe.
The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Rappler.