Camille Naredo

Lead House prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro during the eighth day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

The defense and House prosecution panels cross-examine NBI Director Atty. Melvin Matibag as he takes the witness stand during the eighth day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. Matibag was asked about the agency’s ongoing investigation related to the fourth article of impeachment, focusing on the grave threats uttered by Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

VP Sara Impeachment

Agatha Gregorio

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178474221793620260721-vp-sara-impeachment-day8-MT7.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Lead House prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro during the eighth day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Lead House prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro during the eighth day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, lead House prosecutor, said on Wednesday she has felt “deprived of the opportunity to explain” in some exchanges  with senators in the the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.</p><p>She said she felt that way after an exchange with Senator-Judge Pia Cayetano on Tuesday.</p><p>Cayetano had questioned Luistro over the prosecution&#x27;s use of a document that Arturo Lascañas, who claims to have been a hitman for the Davao Death Squad, submitted to the International Criminal Court.</p><p>The senator as well as Duterte&#x27;s defense panel have objected to the introduction of the document, saying there is no wet signature and has not been notarized.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:514px;height:579px;display:block;flex-grow:1" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2079869578587656674&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-07-22T12%3A40%3A17.278199%3Adbf86698-252e-43c3-9b2a-e9c1d4b5832e%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=c2911bdb3016ed2607fd1ae3868c7bae53d0f219&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="2079869578587656674"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><div><br/></div><p>“Hindi ko lang siya masyadong na-gets agad kahapon (I didn&#x27;t immediately understand yesterday) because, apparently, she tried to limit my answer to &#x27;yes&#x27; or &#x27;no&#x27; only, and I was not given opportunity to explain,” Luistro said.</p><p>Cayetano, one of the few lawyers among the senators, had scolded Luistro and told her to &quot;do your job and present the proper witness and the proper documentation to [prove your case].&quot;</p><p>Luistro asked if she could respond to that, with the senator saying: &quot;I&#x27;d rather not.&quot;</p><p>She said that when Senator-Judge Robinhood Padilla on Wednesday asked her questions during the trial, she said she could not answer without qualifying because it is important to give context to a “yes” or “no.”</p><p>&quot;I feel deprived of the opportunity to explain. And that is why kanina nung tinatanong ako ni Senator Robin (When Senator Robin was asking me questions), I cannot answer without qualifying because it&#x27;s hard to be confronted with a question of &#x27;yes&#x27; or &#x27;no&#x27; only,&quot; said Luistro.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>KAPUNAN APOLOGIZES TO PADILLA</strong></div><p>Atty. Lorna Kapunan, counsel for the prosecutors, meanwhile apologized to Padilla for an “instinctive reaction” during the trial that the senator called out and that prompted presiding officer Francis &quot;Chiz&quot; Escudero to call for order.</p><p>“May I use this opportunity to apologize to Senator-Judge Robin. There was no intent to disrespect him kaya lang siyempre ‘pag lawyer ka at nasa litigation ka, mag-e-emote ka,” Kapunan said. </p><p>(There was no intent to disrespect him but when you are a lawyer in litigation, you are sometimes expressive.)</p><p>Prior to this, Kapunan even said they are appreciative of Padilla for bringing “color and surprise” to impeachment hearings.</p><p>Luistro also took the opportunity to defend the prosecution after Padilla said they should not be &quot;one-sided.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/22/padilla-to-prosecution-in-vp-sara-s-impeachment-sana-wag-kayong-one-sided-1720">Padilla to prosecution in VP Sara&#x27;s impeachment: Sana &#x27;wag kayong one-sided</a></div><p>“[T]his impeachment trial is adversarial,&quot; she said, and the prosecution is expected to try to establish its case and the defense is expected to advocate for their client. </p><p>&quot;So it is very much anticipated that the prosecution is biased towards presenting the case, presenting the evidence,” Luistro said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>SPOX CONCERN ULTIMATELY TOLOSA’S DECISION</strong></div><p>Before adjournment, Escudero said the prosecution and defense may want to consider nominating a spokesperson who would not be covered by the sub judice rule prohibiting parties from discussing the merits of the case.</p><p>Atty. Benjamin Tolosa Jr. of the prosecution and Atty. Michael Poa of the defense are both spokespersons while also being listed as counsel, which, Escudero said could lead to complications further into the trial.</p><p>“We will bring that up with Attorney Jay Tolosa. And ever since naman, we are always deciding as a team. So we will be consulting each other as to the best action to take for Attorney Tolosa,” Luistro said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="960" height="540" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sve6s-pwUPE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, lead House prosecutor, said on Wednesday she has felt “deprived of the opportunity to explain” in some exchanges with senators in the the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.</p>

Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, lead House prosecutor, said on Wednesday she has felt “deprived of the opportunity to explain” in some exchanges with senators in the the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Luistro says she felt ‘deprived of opportunity to explain’ after exchange with Pia Cayetano

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Luistro says she felt ‘deprived of opportunity to explain’ after exchange with Pia Cayetano

Agatha Gregorio,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 22, 2026 08:42 PM PHT

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Updated July 23, 2026 01:45 AM PHT

Read More:

Gerville Luistro

Lorna Kapunan

Impeachment

Pia Cayetano

Robinhood Padilla

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