One of the oldest principles of justice is also one of its simplest: Justice must not only be done, it must also be seen to be done. This principle explains why judges routinely inhibit themselves from cases in which their impartiality may reasonably be questioned. The issue is not always actual bias. More often, it...
Tag: Senate
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Impeachment court grants subpoena of Duterte bank, tax records
House prosecutors scored a victory on Monday after the Senate impeachment court approved their request to subpoena the tax and bank records of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio, as part of their evidence in her ongoing trial. Also ordered to be presented were her records at the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC)....
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House prosecutors drop VP chief of staff, another as impeachment trial witnesses
House prosecutors have decided to forego presenting Zuleika Lopez, chief of staff of the Office of the Vice President, and another witness on Wednesday’s impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan told the Senate impeachment court on Tuesday that the prosecution panel deemed “totally unnecessary” the testimonies of Lopez and Capt....
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VP threats ‘serious, true, real,’ says NBI witness
The grave threats made by Vice President Sara Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House speaker Martin Romualdez in an online news conference on Nov. 23, 2024, were “serious, true, and real” as well as “alarming,” according to a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) executive. Lawyer Jeremy Lotoc, who...
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Ombudsman files plunder and bribery charges against Marcoleta and 3 others
Saying it cannot just look away, the Office of the Ombudsman on Friday filed a nonbailable plunder case against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta at the Sandiganbayan over the ₱75 million in undeclared campaign contributions he received for the 2025 senatorial elections. Marcoleta was also charged with three counts of violating Presidential Decree No. 46, which prohibits...
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Is Senate abolition the best option?
What good is an institution that does much harm, has lost its way, and many of whose members steal from the people, circumvent the law, cause divisiveness and discord, pursue their vested interests, and entrench themselves further in power? Clearly, far from good. Nowadays, this is an apt description of the Philippine Senate: far from...
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Tenderness and ‘heroes’ at the Cayetano bloc’s blue ribbon committee hearing
There was tenderness galore on Thursday at the blue ribbon committee hearing of the bloc led by Alan Peter Cayetano, by his own declaration “the legitimate, legal and moral Senate President.” Ignoring the changes made on Wednesday in the chamber’s power structure by the 12-member majority led by Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian, Cayetano...
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Sotto: Any Senate leadership change should occur before Congress adjourns next week
Any change in the two-week-old, controversy-plagued Senate presidency of Alan Peter Cayetano should happen in the last three session days next week, before Congress goes into sine die adjournment on June 6. And with Congress out, the Senate leadership becomes even more crucial as the chamber is set to embark on one of its important roles:...
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House impeaches VP Duterte again, votes to send her case to the Senate for trial
For the second time, and now with an overwhelming majority, the House of Representatives voted on Monday to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte on accusations of misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, and threats to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. killed. Duterte is the first Filipino official to be impeached twice. The first time was in 2025, with...
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Lacson confident of 9 senators’ signatures on blue ribbon committee’s partial report
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson believes he can get nine members of the blue ribbon committee that he chairs to sign its controversial partial report on the corruption in flood control and other infrastructure projects. So far, only he and three others — Senators Bam Aquino, Risa Hontiveros, and Francis Pangilinan — have signed...