THE House prosecution on Thursday expressed satisfaction with the testimony of its first witness in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, describing him as a credible, competent and consistent witness who successfully laid the groundwork for the admission of key digital evidence.
Impeachment prosecutor San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora said National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Senior Agent John Mark Calilung fulfilled the purpose for which he was called to the witness stand.
“We are very happy with the testimony of John Mark Calilung,” Zamora said during a press briefing.
“Ang masasabi ko po about Calilung is that he was consistent in his statements, he was credible, and he was competent,” she added.
Calilung, an NBI digital forensic examiner and case agent, was the prosecution’s first witness on the fourth impeachment article, which accuses Duterte of making grave threats and inciting to sedition over her Nov. 23, 2024 online press briefing.
During his testimony, Calilung authenticated the video recording in which Duterte said she had contracted an assassin to kill President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez if she herself were killed.
He also authenticated related video recordings examined during the NBI investigation, as well as official statements and online posts issued by President Marcos, then-Speaker Romualdez, the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the National Security Council and other government agencies that responded to Duterte’s remarks and treated them as a serious security matter.
Zamora said Calilung was presented primarily to establish the authenticity of the digital evidence before it could be formally offered before the Senate impeachment court.
“Ang mahalaga pong intindihin in relation to John Mark Calilung, is that he was presented to authenticate the video, the video recording which he made,” she said.
She added that despite being confronted by the defense with documents that had not been previously identified or authenticated, Calilung capably answered the questions posed to him and demonstrated his qualifications before the senator-judges.
Deputy Speaker Francisco Paolo Ortega V likewise commended Calilung’s performance, saying the witness remained clear and composed throughout cross-examination.
“Kita naman natin na maayos sumagot yung witness, napakaklaro to the point na parang nag-iba na nga ’yung strategy ng defense nung they were [cross-examining] him,” the House leader from La Union said.
Ortega said the defense appeared to shift its focus from the evidence itself to the witness, an indication, he said, that Calilung had effectively delivered his testimony.
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