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Metro Manila, Philippines – House prosecutors may classify Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte as a hostile witness when he is presented at the impeachment trial of his sister, Vice President Sara Duterte. House prosecutor Keith Flores said the mayor’s previous public statements indicate that he has an interest in preventing his sister’s conviction. “I think the statements that have been released by the mayor would show that he could be a hostile witness,” Flores told ‘The Newsmaker’.  A witness is considered hostile if the person is uncooperative, shows open antagonism, or gives testimony that harms or contradicts the case of the party who called them to the stand, in this case the prosecution panel. If the impeachment court rules that the mayor is a hostile witness, the prosecution can ask him direct and leading questions. Mayor Duterte has confirmed that the Davao City government has millions of pesos in…

Metro Manila, Philippines –  The Senate may continue Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial in a hypothetical situation where she resigns before a verdict is reached, House prosecutor Keith Flores said. Flores said the question of removal from office will be moot, but the impeachment court could still vote on perpetual disqualification from holding public office. “She can no longer be removed because she resigned. She removed herself,” Flores told The Newsmaker. “But she can still be perpetually prohibited from running for any public office.” He said the Senate would ultimately decide whether Duterte’s resignation should end the proceedings. The Constitution provides that a judgment in an impeachment case may result in removal from office and disqualification from holding public office. Flores cited the case of then impeached Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, who resigned in 2011 before her trial could begin. The Senate discontinued the proceedings against Gutierrez. Flores said Duterte’s…

Metro Manila, Philippines – A Supreme Court challenge to the Senate Impeachment Court decision on who among the senator-judges can deliver a verdict on Vice President Sara Duterte would be difficult to sustain, House prosecutor Keith Flores said. Flores said the Senate sought guidance from former Supreme Court justices before ruling that the two-thirds requirement under the Constitution should be based on the number of senator-judges capable of participating in the proceedings. “To say that there is grave abuse of discretion here is a bit of a stretch,” Flores said in an interview on ‘The Newsmaker’ on NewsWatch Plus. The impeachment court ruling effectively reduced the current threshold for convicting or acquitting Duterte from 16 to 14 votes based on 20 senator-judges. Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta have been detained on separate plunder charges, Senator Bato dela Rosa is hiding from an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, while Senator…

Metro Manila, Philippines – The government has been in talks with Meta for more than a year over online safety measures, but the tech giant has yet to sign a proposed agreement containing protocols sought by the government, Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda said Thursday, Sept. 24.  Aguda said the government has sent two letters to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and reached out to the company’s Asia-Pacific leadership in Singapore as it seeks stronger safeguards for Filipino users, particularly children. “Si Meta — bago pa si Roblox, Discord, Reddit, mahigit isang taon na rin natin silang kinakausap,” Aguda said. [Translation: Meta — even before Roblox, Discord, and Reddit, we have already been talking to them for more than a year.] Aguda said the government has also prepared a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) containing the safety protocols it wants Meta to implement. “Meron na po kaming draft MOU…

Metro Manila, Philippines – The government has lifted the ban on online platform Discord after the company committed to strengthen measures against online safety threats, including nihilistic violent extremism (NVE), child grooming and radicalization, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Thursday, Sept. 24. DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said the government concluded its formal discussions with Discord following successful negotiations with the platform officials. Aguda said Discord presented commitments in response to the government’s concerns over NVE, grooming and radicalization of Filipino children on the platform, as well as online safety threats linked to violence in schools. He added that Discord committed to immediately implement measures to strengthen the protection of children on the platform. Meanwhile, DICT Undersecretary Renato Paraiso said Discord has designated points of contact who will serve as government representatives and can be reached 24/7. The platform has also established a “green lane” mechanism for…