Nakakaligalig naman talaga ang alleged China konekt ni VP Sara, and Atty. Joel Ruiz Butuyan is right: We must give full attention to evidence that will be presented in the coming days, given testimony and documents showing that P319 million deposited in her husband’s company, Cale88 Foods Corp., came from China and Hong Kong. Sana totoo ang say ng mga DDS na wala itong kinalaman sa Chinese government o na hindi ito pahiwatig ng pagkiling ng mga Duterte sa China sa isyung West Philippine Sea. Diin pa ng DDS vloggers, bakit okay lang ang pagkiling ng Marcos government sa Amerika, na may access sa siyam (9) na EDCA bases?

Totoo naman na the ideal is for the Philippines as a sovereign country to deal even-handedly with both the U.S. and China, but China makes it really difficult. Sabi nga ni Florin Hilbay sa Facebook: China has inflicted damage to the livelihood of Filipino fishermen, destroyed large areas of the marine environment in the WPS, casually and repeatedly harassed our own navy, and continues to disrespect the 2016 arbitral award in our favor. That harm is direct—it affects our national security, economy, sovereignty, and dignity as Filipinos. 

CRESCENDO OF EVIDENCE IN THE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL 
Joel Ruiz Butuyan

From the kind of evidence the prosecution has started presenting this week, the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte is entering a very interesting stage. It clearly appears that the evidence being presented is reaching its crescendo, and the prosecution is aiming to end on a high note.

In a case that has enormous political impact, in addition to its judicial objective, it makes a lot of sense for the prosecution to curate the presentation of its evidence. The prosecution has struggled to capture the electorate’s attention since the impeachment trial started on July 6, 2026. In fact, public viewership of the trial waned from the beginning until recently. It’s not hard to understand why.

First, the series of evidence presented by the prosecution for the three-month period from July to September was evidence that was either already long known to, or already expected without any surprise by the public. These include the public threats to kill issued by VP Sara against the President, the first lady, and the then Speaker of the House of Representatives; the respondent’s misuse of outrageous amounts of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education; and evidence of real estate, firearms, and business interests of VP Sara.

The second reason why the public was bored into inattention is because the proceedings were dominated by squabbling on technicalities between the parties’ lawyers and the grandstanding monologues of senator-judges. The members of the public who have full-time day jobs refuse to sit through hours of bickering on what are frivolous issues to the common people.

The kinds of evidence that are coming out this week are expected to generate strong interest and intense attention from the public, however. The pieces of evidence that are emerging are the sort of documents and monetary numbers that are kept in highly secured vaults or protected with thick layers of concealment. It is not only the amounts of money involved that are catching people’s attention, but the nature and sources of those funds.

So far this week, prosecution evidence shows 666 covered transaction reports and 55 suspicious transaction reports involving VP Sara and her husband totaling an eye-popping amount of P4.4 billion. Evidence has also been introduced showing that inward financial transactions totaling P319 million were deposited in a company called Cale88 Foods Corp., owned by VP Sara’s husband. Evidence has likewise been presented showing that the joint accounts of VP Sara and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, recorded P194 million in transactions in a single day on March 28, 2014.

VP Sara has a lot of explaining to do as to why those humongous amounts were not reflected in her statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth. The late Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona was convicted in his impeachment trial for his nondisclosure of his bank deposits amounting to $2.4 million and P80.7 million, which are far smaller compared to the amounts associated with VP Sara.

But what is most disturbing from the recent revelations is not only how huge the amounts are because we’ve been numbed by the numbers involved in corruption scandals involving our public officials. There is testimony presented that some of those amounts came from a suspected drug lord, a certain Samuel Uy. Other amounts received by VP Sara or her husband are allegedly connected with graft and corrupt practices related to the Department of Public Works and Highways’ flood control issue. Still other amounts are allegedly connected with shabu importation. Lastly, there is testimony and there are documents allegedly showing that the P319 million deposited in VP Sara’s husband’s company, Cale88 Foods Corp., came from China and Hong Kong. In the succeeding hearing dates, we expect the prosecution to present more evidence to substantiate these predicate pieces of evidence.

Filipinos must give full attention to the evidence that will be presented in the coming days because we may be witnessing damning evidence that the second highest official of our country has committed traitorous acts by receiving illegal funds from the one country that has usurped our maritime waters, harassed our fisherfolk, and assaulted our security forces. In all past impeachment and criminal complaints against our public officials, they have been confined to cases of corruption. Receiving bribe money from a foreign country that treats us as an enemy is an unparalleled crime against our country and our people.

In the words of Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Jay Tarriela, “[c]orruption may rob the nation of its wealth, but treason robs it of its soul.”