OpenPinas: Weekly Review

Lead House prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro said on May 30 the panel will call 25 witnesses at Vice President Sara Duterte’s Senate trial, including hostile witnesses from DepEd and the OVP still aligned with Duterte. Prosecutors will move to subpoena bank officials and records—a route not taken in House hearings because of bank-secrecy caution, but available in impeachment proceedings after AMLC testimony flagged ₱6.7 billion in covered and suspicious transactions for Duterte and her husband while SALNs showed no cash on hand from 2019–2024. The Senate set her answer deadline for Monday, June 1 after the 10-day summons period would have ended on Saturday, May 30. The week shifted impeachment from institutional opening to evidence strategy ahead of the July 6 trial start.

On May 25 the Supreme Court released its eight-page resolution and separate opinions behind the 9–5–1 vote denying Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s TRO against an ICC arrest warrant, ruling he had no “right in esse” and that threats to his liberty were “more imagined than real” while Senate custody and Malacañang had not ordered his arrest. Concurring justices cited RA No. 9851 and Pangilinan v. Cayetano on possible ICC cooperation; five dissented. On May 27, CIDG and NBI teams raided four properties in Pampanga, Metro Manila, and Bulacan but did not locate him. Legal analysts debated whether Marcoleta’s push for virtual impeachment participation could let an unsworn senator-judge vote from hiding—the Senate has no precedent for remote impeachment judges.

CIDG Director Robert Alexander Morico II said on May 28 the May 13 gunfire inside the Senate and dela Rosa’s departure hours later were related, with the escape a coordinated, pre-planned maneuver. Investigators said Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca fired after spotting NBI personnel near the chamber; findings went to a DOJ prosecutor panel reviewing the leadership-coup week that installed Alan Peter Cayetano. The PNP referred obstruction-of-justice charges against at least six people including Senator Robin Padilla, whose cooperation Morico called indispensable. Cayetano’s liability over the vehicle used to bring Bato back on May 11 was left to the DOJ. The narrative reframes the standoff from political chaos to an alleged obstruction of ICC enforcement.

Trial Chamber III held the first status conference on May 27 for Prosecutor v. Rodrigo Roa Duterte. The prosecution proposed opening trial on November 30, 2026; Presiding Judge Joanna Korner said the chamber was prepared to accede but deferred final scheduling until new medical examinations ordered that day. Duterte waived appearance; British counsel Peter Haynes now leads defense. Further conferences were set for June 23 and July 14. The hearing advanced Hague logistics—interpreter needs, witness protection, evidence disclosure—while Manila pursued Sara’s impeachment and Bato’s manhunt, keeping the Duterte accountability story on parallel tracks.

The peso spent the final week of May in the ₱61.46–₱61.75 band after repeated record lows earlier in the month, with markets closed May 27 for Eid al-Adha. BSP Governor Eli Remolona reiterated a hands-off, volatility-smoothing stance even as gross international reserves reportedly fell to about $469 million in April—the lowest monthly intervention tally in roughly 12 years. OCBC said another BSP hike might not break the slide before the June 5 inflation release, citing oil, a strong dollar, and weak risk appetite. The external squeeze continues to offset nominal remittance gains for households still absorbing April’s 7.2% headline inflation.

The clan entered a pre-trial sprint: Sara faces 25 House witnesses and looming bank subpoenas with her answer due June 1; Rodrigo’s Hague case got a November 30 trial target after the May 27 status conference; Bato remained missing as the SC published its TRO denial and CIDG tied his escape to the Senate shooting, with Padilla in the obstruction frame.

The administration’s impeachment and ICC-enforcement narrative held while economic stress persisted: the peso finished May near record lows and BSP reserves slid, complicating the growth story Marcos needs as the House prosecution prepares a document-heavy case against his former ally Sara Duterte.