Wobbly witness

The impeachment trial, at least thus far, has proven difficult for the prosecution. Its witness, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc, took the stand primarily to testify about Vice President Sara Duterte’s nearly two-hour public broadcast, which forms the basis for the fourth article of impeachment.

Under questioning, however, Lotoc said he could not recall what transpired on 5 February 2025 — the day the first impeachment complaint was filed — a date that has figured prominently in the political controversy.

The witness also appeared uncomfortable during his testimony, at times avoiding direct eye contact with the camera and struggling to recount the sequence of events central to the investigation.

To critics, Lotoc’s testimony exposed significant gaps in the investigation and reinforced their view that the prosecution’s handling of the case has been inadequate.

Apparently, various video sequences were stitched together to produce what they classified as prima facie evidence against VP Duterte.

Lotoc holds Director III rank, one step from being an assistant secretary. In a case this large, in a country watching every session, sloppiness at that level is unforgivable.

The investigation was deeply flawed, and it was obvious from the very beginning that the conclusion was predetermined.

Legal experts asked why the Department of Justice had set aside the NBI’s investigation report and affidavits. It did not file any charges for what is now considered a heinous crime.

A possible explanation is that this is all part of a plan. Instead of holding VP Duterte accountable for grave threats, the government intends to use the issue in the impeachment proceedings and elevate it to a trial to disqualify her from the 2028 presidential election.

The Vice President continues to enjoy strong popularity, while the President’s survey ratings continue to decline.

Their real intention is simply to remove her from the political scene, in the same way they removed former President Rodrigo Duterte and shipped him off to the International Criminal Court.

All of this is political, while the economy and the welfare of every Filipino are being sacrificed for self-preservation and the continued plunder of public funds.

Lotoc admitted the NBI used templated affidavits, boilerplate documents recycled across different agents, carrying the same misspellings, which are evidence built from an independent inquiry.

Templated paperwork was resorted to, which meant that Lotoc never interviewed the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group), or the National Security Council, even though his own report cited their statements.

He thus built a case on second-hand material and called it first-hand knowledge.

It would seem that for the push to oust VP Duterte, the conclusion came first, while the evidence was fitted around it. It explained the specific points raised during the trial, such as the templated affidavits, the agencies that were not interviewed, and the DoJ equest for additional evidence.

Where the analysis gets softer is the leap from investigative shortcuts to grand conspiracy.

The senator-judges also deserve scrutiny, and it raises more than one-way questions about scripted lines and about senators allegedly texting with the prosecution panel.

Another unresolved conflict-of-interest question involves Senators Escudero and Villanueva, both tied to ongoing Ombudsman probes into their own cases.

The fact that the NBI’s findings sat with the DoJ for over a year without a criminal filing, only to resurface at the Senate, deserves more attention than either side is giving it.

What the country is watching is not just a fight over one Vice President but a test of whether investigative agencies can be trusted to handle a case without succumbing to the venom of politics.