July 21, 2026 | Senate Impeachment Court, Pasay City
The Senate impeachment court opened Day 8 at 2 p.m. with 20 senator-judges present. The day marked the last hearing on Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment — the charge of grave threats and inciting to sedition arising from the Vice President's November 2024 Zoom press conference. Here are the highlights of Day 8:
Escudero admonishes Matibag before he even testifies
Moments after National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag took his oath as the prosecution's final Article IV witness, Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero admonished him preemptively. “Director Matibag, the Chair would like to remind and admonish you on behalf of the impeachment court to kindly avoid statements appertaining to individual members of this impeachment court without prejudice to any investigation you are undertaking,” Escudero said, adding this was “without need of issuing statements that may impinge upon the independence and the integrity of the court or the individual senator-judges.”
The warning traced back to Matibag's July 15 announcement that the NBI was probing roughly ₱10 billion in allegedly unliquidated funds tied to the 2019 SEA Games — a disclosure senators Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano called an attempt to intimidate the court, given Alan Cayetano's role chairing the 2019 Games organizing committee. Escudero said the Cayetano siblings' related statements from that day would be referred to the Senate's Rules Committee rather than taken up in the impeachment court itself.
Matibag: no confirmed hitman yet, but 'persons of interest'
Lead Prosecutor Gerville Luistro introduced Matibag as the last witness under Article IV. On the stand, Matibag said the NBI has not yet confirmed the identity of the alleged hitman the Vice President claimed to have hired, but that investigators have identified “persons of interest” who may lead them to the individual she allegedly spoke with. Prosecutors have said Matibag's testimony was meant to corroborate — and add new detail to — the accounts already given by NBI Special Agent John Mark Calilung and Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc earlier in the trial.
Prosecution builds a 'pattern of violence' case
To bolster the grave-threats charge, the prosecution had Matibag walk the court through supporting evidence: a video from 2011 showing Duterte, then Davao City mayor, punching a sheriff, and the sworn affidavit of self-confessed Davao Death Squad hitman Arturo Lascañas implicating the Vice President in extrajudicial killings carried out in Davao City. Prosecutors framed the material as evidence of a broader pattern of violence underlying the November 2024 threats, rather than as isolated remarks.
Cayetano's dissent won't undo the subpoena ruling — prosecutors
A day after the impeachment court granted subpoenas for the Vice President and Atty. Manases Carpio's bank, tax, and AMLC records, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said he would file a written dissent against the ruling. House prosecution spokesman Jay Tolosa said the filing changes nothing: “It will not change the ruling, of course. The ruling will stand,” he said, explaining that a dissent only triggers a vote if a party formally objects to a presiding officer's ruling — mere disagreement does not overturn it.
Private prosecutor Chel Diokno affirmed that senator-judges retain the right under the Senate's impeachment rules to file a dissent, and said the panel welcomes seeing their differing views once submitted. Diokno also pushed back on Davao City Rep. Pulong Duterte's claim that the House impeached the Vice President before gathering evidence, explaining that the House Committee on Justice's task was only to establish probable cause — full evidence-gathering, including subpoenas, properly belongs to the Senate sitting as an impeachment court. He denied any “fishing expedition” or “shortcut.”
Padilla's manifestation, Lacson's jab
Senator Robin Padilla returned to a manifestation tied to the obstruction-of-justice complaint linked to Senator Bato dela Rosa's case, continuing the personal matter he first raised on Day 7. Separately, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson took a jab at an unnamed colleague on the impeachment court, saying that while sharp lawyering from both camps makes for compelling viewing, a “bopol” senator-judge chiming in “makes it feel stupid, too.” Lacson did not identify who he meant.
What Happens Next
With Article IV's evidence phase now closed, the defense is expected to proceed to cross-examining Matibag before the court turns to Article I, covering the Vice President's alleged misuse of confidential funds — a phase defense spokesman Michael Poa has said his team is already preparing for.
Previous Trial Days
• Day 1 (July 6): The Senate formally convened as an impeachment court; Sen. Chiz Escudero was elected presiding officer, ruled that 16 votes are needed to convict, and both panels delivered their opening statements.
• Day 2 (July 7): The prosecution opened its case on Article IV; first witness NBI Senior Agent John Mark Calilung authenticated videos of the Vice President's November 2024 “kill” remarks, and prosecutors bared plans to call the Vice President herself as a hostile witness.
• Day 3 (July 8): The defense cross-examined Calilung, who admitted no personal knowledge of any alleged hitman; the court granted subpoenas for OVP Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez, while prosecutors sought the Vice President's bank and tax records.
• Day 4 (July 13): NBI's Atty. Jeremy Lotoc testified the alleged threats were “real” and “serious” and not covered by free speech; “Operation Romanov” took center stage, with the NBI admitting it found no validated information on the alleged hitman.
• Day 5 (July 14): Lotoc completed his testimony after the warning-versus-threat debate; the prosecution dropped Lopez and Bello as witnesses and shifted its sights to the Vice President's financial records.
• Day 6 (July 15): Financial records and subpoena requests took center stage as both panels argued over bank and tax secrecy; the court set its ruling for July 20.
• Day 7 (July 20): The session opened with a clash over Sen. Robin Padilla's off-topic manifestation on an Ombudsman matter, referred to the Senate as a legislative body; the impeachment court then granted the subpoena for the Vice President and Atty. Manases Carpio's bank, tax, and AMLC records.
• Day 8 (July 21): NBI Director Melvin Matibag closed out Article IV's evidence phase, testifying to “persons of interest” in the alleged hitman probe while the prosecution introduced a Davao Death Squad affidavit and a 2011 assault video to argue a pattern of violence; Escudero admonished Matibag over the SEA Games flap, and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano moved to file a written dissent against the subpoena ruling.
