00:01The prosecution drops Vice President Sara Duterte's Chief of Staff, Zulaika Lopez, as a witness in the impeachment trial.
00:08Prosecution witness Jeremy Lotok says the agency did not find relevant threats against Duterte.
00:14Duterte says there's no evidence she enlisted an assassin, a point the prosecution says is irrelevant to her alleged grave
00:21threats offense.
00:22President Donald Trump says the U.S. will charge fees to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
00:26And Filipino tennis star Alex Ayala promises to continue representing the Philippines in the best way.
00:40The prosecution drops Vice President Sara Duterte's Chief of Staff, Zulaika Lopez, as a witness in the impeachment trial.
00:47Private Prosecutor Lorna Capunan says it is totally unnecessary to call Lopez to the witness stand.
00:52Or we would want to have proven three things.
00:55First, that she was personally present inside that detention center.
01:04When the Vice President uttered the video, Exhibit P-4-10.
01:14When she uttered the statements that she had contracted, that she had already contracted a killer to kill the President,
01:27the First Lady, and the Speaker of the House.
01:29Lopez was in the Senate on Monday, July 13, and Tuesday, July 14, waiting to be called as a witness
01:36and would have likely been a hostile witness for the prosecution.
01:39Lopez was the reason for Duterte's visit to the House of Representatives on November 21, 2024, when the Vice President
01:46locked herself inside her brother's office.
01:48Days later, Duterte held the infamous virtual media conference where she threatened the life of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
01:55Meantime, the prosecution also says it will no longer call House Security Officer Belinda Bellio.
02:02Prosecution witness and NBI regional director Jeremy Lotok says the agency did not find relevant threats against Vice President Sara
02:10Duterte.
02:10This on the fifth day of Duterte's impeachment trial.
02:13Trinay namin, i-check yun, Your Honor. Ang nakita lang namin relevant information as to the security, yung pagbabawas ho
02:20ng 75 PNP personnel from BPSPG, if I'm not mistaken.
02:24In 2024, the Philippine National Police removed 75 policemen as Duterte security personnel, citing shortage of personnel for ground duties.
02:33The defense argues Duterte was pushed to the edge by the so-called Operation Romanov, an alleged plot to eliminate
02:39the Duterte family.
02:40Defense lawyer Mark Vinluan also questions the NBI's alleged bias in investigating threats against high-ranking officials.
02:47He claims the Bureau thoroughly investigated the threats against the President but did not do the same for the Vice
02:53President.
02:54But Lotok says the NBI also launched a motu proprio investigation into the alleged threats against Duterte but found no
03:01concrete threat.
03:04Vice President Sara Duterte says her impeachment trial has yielded no evidence she enlisted an assassin to kill President Ferdinand
03:11Marcos Jr.
03:12This despite the prosecution arguing that grave threats she stated in two viral videos on their own constitute an impeachable
03:19offense.
03:20In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, July 14, Duterte denies there was ever an assassin.
03:25She writes,
03:26The complaint is not supported by evidence. Repeatedly claiming that there were threats when none existed,
03:32inventing an assassin when there was none, and fabricating evidence to support those claims does not transform fiction into fact.
03:39However, the complaint is not that she enlisted an assassin, but that she said she enlisted an assassin.
03:46Duterte also claims the impeachment proceedings are not credible.
03:49This as the impeachment court hears arguments on two videos presented by the prosecution
03:53as evidence that she issued grave threats against the first couple and then House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
03:59The first video from November 23, 2024 shows Duterte saying she enlisted someone to kill the three in case she
04:06herself is killed.
04:07The second video from November 26, 2024 shows Duterte speaking to reporters and affirming what she said in the first
04:14video.
04:15Neither the defense nor any of the senator judges questioned the authenticity of the videos.
04:20Duterte was officially summoned to the trial but has so far snubbed the hearings, leaving her defense to her lawyers.
04:28U.S. President Donald Trump says the U.S. will reinstate its blockade of Iranian shipping in the Strait of
04:34Hormuz and will charge fees to keep the waterway open.
04:37This as the U.S. military carries out a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran.
04:42The U.S. Central Command says it began strikes after Trump said Iran would be, quote,
04:46hit very hard tonight and we're going to hit them hard tomorrow.
04:50He later tells reporters at the White House that the U.S. was attacking Iranian capabilities in the Strait.
04:55Soon after, the UAE Ministry of Defense also says Iranian cruise missiles struck two Emirati oil tankers
05:01while passing through the southern lane of the Strait.
05:03Trump says the USA will be, from this point forward, known as the guardian of the Hormuz Strait,
05:09but as such and as a matter of fairness, will be reimbursed at the rate of 20% on all
05:13cargo shipped.
05:16Filipino tennis star Alex Ayala promises to continue representing the Philippines in the best way.
05:22This after she receives the Presidential Citation at Malacanang.
05:26Her homecoming follows her historic run at the Wimbledon Championship.
05:34I carry the flag with me wherever I go and I am a firm believer that where you come from
05:44is a big part of who you are.
05:46Ayala also enjoys a rousing reception from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Malacanang.
05:51Marcos hails Ayala as the embodiment of the Filipino's greatest qualities.
05:55Ayala has this message to young Filipinos.
05:58Unang-una, sa mga kabataan, huwag kayong matakot mangarap ng malaki.
06:05At ipursige kung ano yung mahal nyo sa buhay.
06:09Ano yung mga passions nyo.
06:11Ano yung gusto nyong gawing career.
06:15And that's today's wrap. I'm JC Gutinga.
06:18Thank you for watching. Click the link below for the full story.
06:20For more updates, download the Rappler app.
06:28Thank you, everybody.
06:28I'm Freddy.
06:28Thanks, man.
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