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LATEST COMMENTARY

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FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

3-minute read

WHY WINNING DOES NOT END A VOTE-BUYING CASE

If a candidate has already won and been proclaimed, can a vote-buying case still cost them the position? The Supreme Court’s latest announcement on two Candijay, Bohol candidates shows why the election result does not settle everything.

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5-minute read

HOW THE NEXT CHIEF JUSTICE IS CHOSEN

The Judicial and Bar Council has finished interviewing candidates to succeed Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, who is due to retire on November 6. GMA News reported the completed interviews on October 27. The interviews are one stage of a process that gives the President a choice, but also sets limits on who can be chosen and how the appointment is made.

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4-minute read

ABOUT COMPENSATION FOR WORK-RELATED HEAT ILLNESS

If someone becomes ill while working in extreme heat, the problem can continue after the shift ends: medical bills, missed work and uncertainty about where to ask for help. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced guidelines on October 23 for heat-illness claims under the existing Employees' Compensation Program (ECP).

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5-minute read

ABOUT BATO DELA ROSA’S ₱50-MILLION BOUNTY

The DILG announced a ₱50-million bounty for Senator Bato dela Rosa’s capture on October 23. The announcement came after months of talk about a possible reward—and days after Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said authorities knew dela Rosa was in Mindanao and were negotiating for his turnover.

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Afternoon6-minute read

ABOUT THE OVP’S 2027 BUDGET AFTER A 16-MINUTE SENATE HEARING

The Office of the Vice President’s proposed budget moved through a Senate panel today in 16 minutes. Vice President Sara Duterte was absent; her chief of staff answered for the office. Yesterday’s MCT explainer looked at parliamentary courtesy. Today’s question is what that short hearing actually did to the spending plan, and what it left for the Senate to examine.

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Afternoon6-minute read

ABOUT THE EDSA BUSWAY’S 2027 BUDGET GAP

The Department of Transportation is again asking Congress to fund the EDSA Busway. Its original ₱1.756 billion request received zero in the administration’s proposed 2027 National Expenditure Program. A House budget panel later inserted ₱75 million. Those two statements describe different stages of the same budget process. Neither tells us yet what Congress will finally approve.

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Afternoon7-minute read

ABOUT DECLARING AN AMBASSADOR PERSONA NON GRATA

Several lawmakers want Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan sent home. The Chinese Embassy has challenged them to follow through. That exchange leaves an ordinary reader with a reasonable question: if our own officials say an ambassador should leave, why is he still here?

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7:23 AM5-minute read

ABOUT LINO CAYETANO AND THE CHANGE AT THE PCO

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on October 11 that Lino Cayetano would replace Dave Gomez at the Presidential Communications Office. He said Gomez had been bypassed by the Commission on Appointments and that the change would be formalized when they returned from Singapore.

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6:10 PM4-minute read

ABOUT THE DISPUTE OVER CHANGING THE ORDER OF IMPEACHMENT WITNESSES

The argument at Thursday’s impeachment hearing was about which witness the prosecution could present next. It began with an absent lawyer and became a dispute over preparation and notice. Understanding the exchange helps explain why a courtroom can pause even when the parties, documents and another potential witness are already in the building.

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3:01 PM3-minute read

ABOUT MARK VILLAR’S MOVE TO THE SENATE MAJORITY

Senator Mark Villar has formally left the Senate minority and joined the majority. The October 8 move strengthens the bloc supporting the chamber’s leadership and gives Villar two significant positions. Its implications for Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, however, require more than counting political allies.

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9:56 AM4-minute read

ABOUT THE MANAGER’S CHECKS AND THE QUESTIONS OVER SARA DUTERTE’S SALN

A bank balance can fall even when the value represented by the money has not disappeared. That distinction sits behind the prosecution’s questions about manager’s checks in Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial. To understand the October 7 testimony, we need to follow the instrument, the person entitled to its value and the declaration of assets for the relevant year.

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9:08 PM3-minute read

ABOUT WHAT COA’S REJECTION OF THE OVP APPEAL MEANS

COA has rejected the request to reconsider the ₱73.287-million disallowance involving the Office of the Vice President’s December 2022 confidential expenses. The October 5 resolution became public on October 7. Its significance is easier to understand when the amount, the audit finding and the available legal remedies are kept separate.

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7:47 AM3-minute read

ABOUT WHAT BANK SECRECY PROTECTS IN AN IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

The arguments over bank records in Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial involve several protections. The privacy of a peso deposit, the protection of a foreign-currency deposit, and the confidentiality of a report sent to the AMLC come from different rules. Understanding those differences helps explain what the court has allowed and what remains in dispute.

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8:43 AM8-minute read

ABOUT THE AMLC RECORDS IN SARA DUTERTE’S IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

₱4.4 billion is a figure that can dominate a conversation before anyone asks what it counts. AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura presented that approximate total in the Senate impeachment court on October 5, covering reported transactions involving Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio. He also explained that a bank correction had reduced the earlier figure of ₱6.7 billion.

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6:44 PM5-minute read

ABOUT THE COINS.PH CASH-IN RESTRICTION AND WHAT USERS SHOULD CHECK

If you use Coins.ph to receive money or pay bills, a failed cash-in can disrupt plans for the day. Coins.ph has announced that some incoming peso services are temporarily unavailable following a BSP directive to improve its internal controls. Its advisory also identifies services that existing customers can still use.

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12:00 PM5-minute read

ABOUT THE PROPOSED RULES ON SECONDHAND PHONES

A secondhand phone can put a useful device within reach of someone who cannot afford a new one. The problem comes when the buyer has no clear information about where it came from, what condition it is in, or who will fix it if it fails.

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8:35 PM6-minute read

ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT’S DECISION ON THE IMPEACHMENT VOTE THRESHOLD

The Supreme Court dismissed three petitions on September 30 challenging how the Senate impeachment court would count the votes needed to convict Vice President Sara Duterte. The dismissal leaves the Senate’s September 23 ruling in place, but it needs to be read carefully. A case can be dismissed because it does not meet the requirements for the Court to hear it, without settling whether the challenged action is constitutional.

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6:12 AM6-minute read

ABOUT WHAT BASTE DUTERTE SHOULD HAVE CHECKED AS MAYOR

Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte told the Senate impeachment court on September 29 that he had been unfamiliar with GenCorp Industries Inc. before it came up in the proceedings. He also said he did not know about Vice President Sara Duterte’s declared business interest in the company.

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10:45 PM7-minute read

ABOUT THE OCTOBER WATER-RATE INCREASES

Metro Manila households served by Maynilad and Manila Water will see slightly higher water charges beginning October 1. The announced increases are small for many residential customers, but the figures vary by concessionaire and consumption level. That makes it easy to misunderstand a notice expressed only in centavos per cubic meter.

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7:21 AM6-minute read

ABOUT THE NOTE HANDED TO GIBO TEODORO IN SEOUL

Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. was answering questions at the Seoul Defense Dialogue on September 8 when a man handed him a note. He read it aloud, challenged its rejection of the 2016 South China Sea ruling and objected to being interrupted that way.

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9:55 AM8-minute read

ABOUT EL NIÑO AND PREPARING FOR LESS RAIN

It can be raining outside while PAGASA warns about El Niño. That can sound confusing when the immediate problem is a wet road or a flooded field. The two warnings describe different periods: the weather happening now and the rainfall conditions that may develop over the coming months.

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5:30 AM8-minute read

ABOUT THE NEW ARREST WARRANTS AGAINST ZALDY CO, MARTIN ROMUALDEZ AND TWO OTHERS

The Sandiganbayan has ordered the arrest of Zaldy Co, Martin Romualdez and two other accused in the plunder case filed on September 7. By Monday evening, authorities had served Romualdez's warrant and carried out booking procedures at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan. His arrest is a confirmed development; it does not establish that his three co-accused are also in custody.

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3:15 PM8-minute read

ABOUT THE PLUNDER CASE AGAINST MARTIN ROMUALDEZ

The Office of the Ombudsman filed a plunder case against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez at the Sandiganbayan on September 7 over his alleged involvement in flood-control kickbacks. The accusations have now reached the court that will handle the criminal case. Romualdez denies wrongdoing and remains presumed innocent.

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1:18 PM7-minute read

ABOUT THE NEW SWS POVERTY NUMBERS

Self-rated poverty and food poverty declined in June, but the figures also show how many Filipino families remain under pressure and why lower household budgets do not necessarily mean life became cheaper.

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2:02 PM11-minute read

ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S SOCIAL MEDIA SAFETY ACT

House Bill No. 9965 would bar children below 13 from having social media accounts, require parental consent for users aged 13 to 17, regulate platform algorithms, and impose fines reaching P50 million. It is still being deliberated in the House.

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12:02 PM7-minute read

ABOUT THE SEALED BIR BOX

Marcos authorized the BIR to comply with the Senate subpoena. That did not open the records to the public or prove the unexplained-wealth allegation.

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September 23, 2026 · 7:00 PM5-minute read

ABOUT TODAY’S SENATE IMPEACHMENT VOTE

Who voted, who did not, and how the Senate’s 13–1 ruling changes the calculation for conviction.

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Chiz Escudero holding a gavel. Senate of the Philippines screengrab via Bistado.

The Senate impeachment court voted today to replace the fixed 16-vote requirement in Vice President Sara Duterte’s trial. The decision changes how the court will calculate the votes needed for conviction.

There were two separate votes, and neither decided whether Duterte was guilty. Here is who voted, who did not, and what the ruling means.

1

THE COURT VOTED 13–1 TO CHANGE THE CALCULATION

Thirteen senator-judges supported Erwin Tulfo’s appeal to overturn the July 6 ruling requiring 16 votes. Presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero cast the lone vote against it, while six senators did not participate.

Earlier, the court rejected Alan Peter Cayetano’s attempt to stop the threshold vote. Thirteen senators rejected his challenge, six supported it, and Mark Villar abstained.

Those were different questions. The first cleared the way for a decision; the second changed the rule used to calculate the votes needed for conviction.

WHAT TO WATCH

Read the question behind each tally. A vote to change a trial rule is not a vote finding Duterte guilty.

2

THESE WERE THE 13 WHO VOTED FOR THE CHANGE

The senators were Bam Aquino, JV Ejercito, Sherwin Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros, Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Lito Lapid, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Erwin Tulfo, Raffy Tulfo, Joel Villanueva, Mark Villar, and Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri.

Escudero voted against the change. He nevertheless said he would give effect to the court’s majority decision.

Mark Villar’s position needs a clear explanation: he abstained in the earlier procedural vote, then voted for the change in the main vote. Reporting only his earlier abstention would leave readers with the wrong account of his final vote.

WHAT TO WATCH

These 13 votes do not establish a bloc of 13 senators committed to conviction. Their eventual votes on the charges must be recorded separately.

3

SIX DID NOT PARTICIPATE; FOUR OTHERS WERE ABSENT

Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Christopher “Bong” Go, Imee Marcos, Robin Padilla, and Camille Villar did not participate in the main vote. All six had supported Cayetano’s earlier challenge.

The four absent senators were Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Jinggoy Estrada, Loren Legarda, and Rodante Marcoleta.

That accounts for all 24 Senate seats: 13 for the change, one against, six who did not participate, and four absent. The six nonparticipants should not be recorded as six votes against the ruling.

WHAT TO WATCH

Nonparticipation in today’s vote does not, by itself, establish that a senator will be excluded when the court calculates the requirement for the verdict.

4

TWO-THIRDS STILL APPLIES. FOURTEEN DEPENDS ON THE VOTING BASE

The Constitution requires the agreement of two-thirds of all Senate members for conviction. Today’s dispute concerned which senators should be counted when some cannot legally or physically perform their duties.

Under the new ruling, the court must determine, using evidence, which senators remain legally and factually able to participate when the verdict is reached. The calculation will use that group, with any fraction rounded up.

If the court determines that 20 senators belong in that group, conviction requires 14 votes. Two-thirds of 20 is 13⅓, so 13 would fall short.

The ruling does not automatically settle the final number today. It applies to Duterte’s current trial and does not bind future impeachment courts.

WHAT TO WATCH

The court’s decision on who qualifies for inclusion in the calculation. Simply counting the people present in the room is not enough.

5

THIS COULD CHANGE HOW MANY VOTES THE PROSECUTION NEEDS

With a voting base of 20, the prosecution would need two fewer votes than under the previous fixed requirement of 16. That could affect the outcome when senators eventually decide the charges.

Supporters argue that senators who cannot perform their duties should not prevent the court from reaching a verdict. Duterte’s defense maintains its objection to changing the earlier ruling and says it will pursue available legal remedies.

Today’s result therefore leaves two decisions ahead: who will be counted in the final calculation, and how those senators will vote after considering the case.

WHAT TO WATCH

Any legal challenge and the court’s response, followed by the eventual votes on the charges. An announced challenge is not a court order overturning today’s ruling.

BOTTOM LINE

Today’s 13–1 vote changed a rule that could affect whether a conviction can be reached. It did not convict or acquit Sara Duterte. Fourteen would be enough if the court sets the eligible voting base at 20; the final calculation still requires the court’s determination.

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