2026 ImpeachmentTracker tracks claims made in the impeachment trial and the evidence cited for them. Status labels describe the state of evidence in the proceeding — never guilt, innocence, or a predicted verdict. This is an independent, solo-developer civic project; corrections are welcome. Read our methodology & disclaimers.

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Impeachment Trial - Day 3

Defense counsel concluded cross-examination of NBI Senior Agent John Mark Calilung by testing the investigation's foundation — the alleged offended parties never appeared or complained, the witness had no personal knowledge of the threat or alleged hitman, and the DOJ had first returned the NBI affidavit as deficient. The court subpoenaed OVP chief of staff Zuleika Lopez, set July 15 oral arguments on the BIR-box and bank-record subpoenas, and adjourned to July 13.

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Agenda

  • Continuation and conclusion of cross-examination of NBI Senior Agent John Mark Calilung (Article IV)
  • Defense challenge to the NBI investigation's foundation: offended-party participation, witness personal knowledge, and the affidavit-of-investigation history
  • Senator-judge questioning on documentary discovery, witness credentials, and the relevance of the OVP chief-of-staff detention video
  • Subpoena, BIR-box, and bank-record scheduling disputes; adjournment of Week 1

Session record

Claims introduced or updated

  • No new standing claim cards were added; Day 3 materially updated the existing Article IV grave-threats card and touched the Article I and Article II cards procedurally.
  • The prosecution's first witness, NBI Senior Agent John Mark Calilung, concluded roughly nine hours of testimony spanning Days 2 to 3; the defense framed its cross as a test of the investigation's accuracy and the witness's basis for his findings.
  • The defense elicited that President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Romualdez did not appear before the NBI, filed no complaint, and were not included as complainants; the witness disclaimed personal knowledge of the alleged threat and the alleged hired assassin, and no court has yet convicted the Vice President for grave threats or inciting to sedition.
  • The defense read a February 5, 2025 DOJ certification (Sr. Asst. State Prosecutor Bandong) listing seven grounds on which the NBI's first, January 30 affidavit was returned as deficient; the NBI resubmitted a revised February 10 affidavit, which the DOJ accepted.

Evidence & exhibits

  • Several documents were used to confront the witness on cross-examination (the January 30 affidavit of investigation, the February 5 DOJ certification of deficiency, and a February 11 transmittal) but were not pre-marked for the court and have not been formally offered by either party.
  • The Presiding Officer confirmed the BIR tax-record box ordered returned closed on July 6 had been returned to the BIR sealed, untouched, and duly received.
  • The court directed that senator-judges be furnished the list of Article IV evidence pre-marked by the prosecution, by article, and that copies of documents used in examination be supplied in real time when requested.

Court rulings

  • The Presiding Officer overruled the prosecution's objection to yes-or-no questioning and a later relevance objection, allowing cross-examination to test the accuracy and truthfulness of the witness's transcription.
  • The Presiding Officer limited counsel answers to senator-judge questions (citing an agreement among senator-judges), preventing defense counsel from placing a conclusion of law and fact on the record in response to Senator-Judge Hontiveros.
  • The court ordered subpoenas for NBI lawyer Jeremy Lotoc and Atty. Melvin Matibag for the July 13 to 15 trial dates, and a subpoena for OVP chief of staff Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez for July 13 and 14.
  • The Presiding Officer ordered both parties to submit memoranda by Monday, July 13, and set July 15 oral arguments (10 minutes per side, with possible three-minute rebuttal) on the BIR-box and bank-record subpoena questions.
  • The trial was adjourned until 2:00 p.m. on Monday, July 13, 2026, after the prosecution moved its second witness (Lotoc) to Monday.

Open questions

  • Will the July 15 oral arguments resolve the scope of the BIR tax-record and bank/AMLC subpoenas before evidence on those articles proceeds?
  • Does the defense's challenge to the NBI investigation's foundation (offended-party participation, witness personal knowledge) bear on the weight, rather than admissibility, of the Article IV authentication evidence?
  • What will OVP chief of staff Zuleika Lopez and NBI lawyer Lotoc add to the Article IV record when they testify beginning July 13?

Claims updated in this session

Sources