Why this status: Both sides have put forward evidence or arguments and the matter is actively disputed. Neither position has been substantiated or rejected by the record as tracked so far.
What does the affidavit introduced through NBI witness testimony allege about the Vice President's role in Oplan Tokhang, and what is its evidentiary status at trial?
Lascañas affidavit on Oplan Tokhang
Through NBI witness testimony, the prosecution introduced an affidavit — attributed to a former police officer and self-confessed member of the group known as the 'Davao Death Squad' — alleging that then–Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte was among the architects of, and was directly involved in, the anti-drug campaign known as Oplan Tokhang. The defense contested the affidavit's admissibility.
Claimed by Melvin Matibag — Director, National Bureau of Investigation (Witness)
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Positions
Witness statement
WitnessThrough NBI witness testimony, the prosecution introduced an affidavit — attributed to a former police officer and self-confessed member of the group known as the 'Davao Death Squad' — alleging that then–Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte was among the architects of, and was directly involved in, the anti-drug campaign known as Oplan Tokhang. The defense contested the affidavit's admissibility.
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Developments
- Impeachment Trial - Day 9Context
The impeachment court's presiding officer ruled that the document purporting to be Arturo Lascañas's affidavit was admitted only as part of the NBI's open-source investigation, not as proof of its authenticity or the truth of its contents. Defense counsel challenged the witness's reliance on the affidavit, including its unsigned and unnotarized state.
- Impeachment Trial - Day 12Contradicts this claim
Presiding officer Sen. Francis Escudero directed that pre-marking of portions of Arturo Lascañas's affidavit (paragraphs 270, 270-B, 270-D) proceed the next session day without prejudice to a final ruling, with admissibility to be decided on formal offer. Defense counsel objected that no witness had testified to the affidavit and that it was unnotarized, unsigned, and unidentified by any competent witness, and placed a continuing objection on record against even the marking of the exhibit.
- Impeachment Trial - Day 13Context
Presiding officer Sen. Francis Escudero granted the prosecution's request to transfer exhibit markings on unobjected portions of the purported Lascañas affidavit to a certified true copy and denied the defense's objection to transferring markings on exhibits P-4-35 through P-4-35B, with a written ruling on objected portions to issue via the court journal. He ruled the physical transfer is a ministerial act not affecting authenticity, admissibility, or evidentiary weight, and stated the affidavit remains unsigned, unauthorized, and not made under oath — its contents hearsay — citing Section 34, Rule 132 of the Rules of Court and Spinelli v. People.
Evidence tiers, explained
The official record of the proceeding itself: session video (VODs) and transcripts, filed pleadings, court orders and rulings, admitted exhibits.
An official or primary document from outside the proceeding: an agency report (e.g. a COA audit), an official order or gazette entry, an authenticated original statement.
Reporting that describes primary material rather than being it — one step removed from the record, whoever the publisher is.
Commentary, analysis, or opinion: an editorial, column, press release, social-media post, or other advocacy or self-published take.
A publicly circulating claim whose provenance cannot be traced to any of the tiers above; never used to set a claim's status.