Ligutan says defense failed to debunk testimony on VP ‘kill threat’ video

MANILA, Philippines — The House prosecution in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte said on Wednesday that the defense failed to debunk the testimony of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Senior Agent Mark Calilung on the video containing the alleged “kill threat” made by Duterte.

According to a statement from the prosecution, lawyer Amando Virgil Ligutan saw no reason to question Calilung further after the defense completed its cross-examination, so he waived a redirect examination of the witness.

“Yes, Your Honor, I said for the utter failure of the respondent to debunk the material points testified to by the witness yesterday,” Ligutan told the court after the defense challenged his earlier manifestation explaining why the prosecution was dispensing with the redirect.

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Lawyer Carlo Joaquin Narvasa, counsel for the vice president, objected to Ligutan’s statement and moved to have it stricken from the record.

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But Sen. Francis Escudero, the presiding officer, deferred a ruling, saying the matter would first be verified against the official journal.

Calilung was then excused from the witness stand, concluding his two-day testimony.

Digital evidence presented, identified

Calilung, the first prosecution witness, presented and identified the digital evidence supporting the impeachment article accusing Duterte of making grave threats against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

The senior agent from the NBI Cybercrime Division told the court he was part of the team assigned to investigate the video of Duterte’s online briefing on Nov. 23, 2024.

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He identified the full video recording of the briefing, in which Duterte said that, in case she should be killed, she had asked someone to kill the president, the first lady, and Romualdez.

He also identified the official transcript of the media briefing and screenshots extracted from the recording that were offered as documentary evidence.

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Calilung also presented official statements from several government agencies, along with screenshots of the agencies’ websites and social media accounts, showing the government’s response to Duterte’s remarks.

The official statements came from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the National Security Council, the Presidential Communications Office, and the Office of the Executive Secretary.

Calilung also explained the digital forensic procedures employed by the NBI Cybercrime Division, detailing how the electronic evidence was identified, collected, preserved, and verified before being presented to the impeachment court.

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Before he was excused from the witness stand, Calilung also answered clarificatory questions from several senator-judges regarding his qualifications as an expert witness, the digital evidence he presented, and the methods employed by the NBI to identify, preserve, and verify electronic evidence during its investigation. /atm