Latest news with #StateoftheNationAddress
GMA Network
21 hours ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Escudero: Sara Duterte impeachment trial up to 20th Congress
Senate President Francis 'Chiz' Escudero said Monday that senators in the 20th Congress will get the final say on whether or not the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will push through. The 20th Congress will open on July 28, on the day of the fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. With only six plenary sessions remaining before the 19th Congress adjourns on June 13, Escudero said the next Congress will be the one to handle the trial proper, if pursued, once it convenes a day after SONA or on July 29. He explained that regardless of the decision of the 19th Congress regarding impeachment matters, it cannot bind the subsequent Congress. Meaning, the 20th Congress needs to decide again if it will reconvene as an impeachment court and proceed with the trial 'either by an affirmative vote or by their silence and acquiescence.' 'Pwedeng pagbotohan 'yun ng plenaryo ng 19th Congress pero anuman ang desisyon namin, hindi pwede i-bind 'yung 20th Congress. So pwedeng magkaroon ng ibang pananaw 'yung 20th Congress. Halimbawa, pwedeng sabihin ng 19th Congress, tatawid 'yan pero ang pasya ng 20th Congress, hindi tatawid 'yan at idi-dismiss nila, so depende,' the Senate President said. (The 19th Congress can vote on it, but regardless of our decision, the 20th Congress cannot be bound. So the 20th Congress can have a different decision. For example, the 19th Congress can say that the impeachment trial will proceed, but the 20th Congress can say otherwise, so it depends.) 'Sa dulo, you have to understand in Congress, plenary is supreme. It's not the decision or the voice of one member even if he or she is the Senate President or an officer of the Senate or the House. Desisyon palagi ng plenaryo ang mangingibabaw sa anumang usapin,' he added. (In the end, you have to understand that in Congress, plenary is supreme. It's not the decision or the voice of one member even if he or she is the Senate President or an officer of the Senate or the House. The decision of the plenary will always prevail no matter what.) Five senators in the 20th Congress were endorsed by PDP-Laban, chaired by Sara's father former president Rodrigo Duterte, during the 2025 midterm elections: Ronald 'Bato' Dela Rosa, Bong Go, Rodante Marcoleta, Imee Marcos, and Camille Villar. They will join Senator Robin Padilla, who sits as the party's president. Other senators in the next Congress are either independent or are allied with other political parties. Escudero urged incoming senator-judges, regardless of who they are affiliated with, to remain impartial regarding the impeachment. 'Desisyon at pasya nila 'yon hindi para sa akin na husgahan 'yon. Pero nakalagay sa aming rules hangga't maaari ay maging impartial sana ang bawat senator-judge hangga't hindi pa naririnig 'yung kaso mismo. Maging ganun pa man ang pag-inhibit ay voluntary decision sa parte ng sinumang hukom. Hindi ito pinagbobotohan ng mga miyembro ng hukom mismo,' he said. (They have their own decision and it's not for me to judge. But it is stated in our rules that every senator-judge should be impartial as much as possible until the case has been heard. Even so, inhibition is a voluntary decision on the part of any judge. It is not voted upon by the members of the senator-judges themselves.) Asked if the impeachment trial will proceed as scheduled on July 30, Escudero said that it should "in the ordinary course of events," unless the senators decide otherwise. Based on the proposed schedule, the oath-taking of newly elected senator-judges before the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, will take place on July 29 at 9 a.m., followed by a plenary session in the afternoon. The trial proper will then begin on July 30 from 9 a.m. until 2:00 pm. Last week, Escudero announced that the reading of impeachment raps against Duterte would be moved from June 2 to June 11, as the Congress needs to prioritize the passage of the items in the administration's legislative agenda before the 19th Congress adjourned sine die on June 14. House Speaker Martin Romualdez agree that convening the impeachment court for the trial of the Vice President is up to the Senate 'The Senate President's letter to me is pretty straightforward. Kaya 'yung impeachment complaint ay nasa Senado na. So we leave it to their sound discretion as to how they want to proceed and conduct [the impeachment trial],' Romualdez told reporters. "The Senate President outlined the priority measures that they would like to prioritize first, so we have to respect the decision of the Senate President,' he added. Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives on February 5, with over 200 congressmen endorsing the complaint against her. She was accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes mainly over alleged misuse of around P612.5 million worth of confidential funds and threatening to kill President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., his wife Liza and the President's cousin and Speaker Romualdez. The Vice President, for her part, said she is looking forward to her impeachment trial in the upcoming 20th Congress because she 'wants a bloodbath." She clarified over the weekend that she meant her own blood, even likening the impeachment trial to a crucifixion. —with a report from Llanesca Panti/AOL, GMA Integrated News
The Citizen
a day ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Collect your June SASSA grants from tomorrow
SASSA has confirmed that Pretoria grant recipients can collect their payments from tomorrow, with June payout dates now officially announced. Below are the payment dates for Older Person's, Disability, and Children's grants in June: Older Person's Grant 3 June 2025 Disability Grant 4 June 2025 Children's Grant 5 June 2025 All social grants, barring the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, increased in April this year. Delivering the 2025 Budget Speech in Parliament earlier this year, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana stated that the number of social grant beneficiaries – excluding those receiving the SRD grant – was expected to rise to around 19 million in 2025/26 and 19.3 million in 2027/28 due to a growing population of older persons. Godongwana said that for 2025/26, social grants were allocated approximately R284.7 billion. 'As announced by the President in the State of the Nation Address, the SRD was to be used as a basis for the introduction of a sustainable form of income support for unemployed people. 'The future form and nature of the SRD would be informed by the outcome of the review of active labour market programmes, which was expected to be completed by September 2025. 'The truth was that ours was one of the most comprehensive social safety nets among emerging economies. This reflected our commitment to addressing poverty and inequality, while keeping our spending sustainable,' he said. The grant increases that took effect in April were: Old age grant: increased from R2185 to R2315 War veterans grant: increased from R2205 to R2335 Disability grant: increased from R2185 to R2315 Foster care grant: increased from R1180 to R1250 Care dependency grant: increased from R2185 to R2315 Child support grant: increased from R530 to R560 Grant-in-aid: increased from R530 to R560 In the Budget Review, National Treasury stated that the budget for social grants was increased by R8.2 billion over the medium term to account for higher living costs. 'An amount of R35.2 billion was allocated to extend the payment at the current SRD rate of R370 per month per beneficiary, including administration costs,' the department said. Also read: Is there an outbreak of Staphylococcus in Pretoria? Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to bennittb@ or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
GMA Network
5 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
VP Sara back in Netherlands to visit dad Duterte, Imee in tow
Vice President Sara Duterte is now in the Netherlands, ahead of the impeachment trial against her. According to Maki Pulido's report in '24 Oras' on Thursday, Duterte arrived in Amsterdam on Wednesday, accompanied by Senator Imee Marcos, who will be one of the senator-judges at her trial. Her office had earlier announced her schedule this week, which included a trip to the Netherlands to once again visit her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who is detained at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. She is also scheduled to celebrate her 47th birthday on Saturday together with Filipino Duterte supporters in front of the ICC. While the vice president is abroad, the Senate is busy preparing for the trial, with the rooms already prepared and the robes for the senator-judges already measured. The reading of the articles of impeachment against the Vice President had originally been scheduled for June 2, when she would have still been in Europe. On Thursday, Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero announced that the reading has been postponed to June 11. The trial will be held at the Senate's session hall with the gallery open to the media and members of the public. The witness stand that had been used during the impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada in 2000 has been brought out of the museum to be used again. The Senate of the 19th Congress will adjourn on June 13. The 20th Congress will then convene on July 28, the day of the President's State of the Nation Address. Senator-elect Vicente "Tito" Sotto III has questioned whether the impeachment is transferrable to the 20th Congress. In response, House prosecutor Lorenz Defensor likened the impeachment trial to a regular trial, saying, "Once a case is filed with the trial court, the judge may retire, the judge may get promoted, but the case stays on with the trial court. Hindi nadi-dismiss ang kaso just because napalitan ang mga judges [The case is not dismissed just because the judges are replaced]." For his part, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said, 'Yung prinsipyo kasi ng Senate is a continuing body, kaya merong 12-12. Twelve ang incumbent katulad ko, may 12 na bago. So continuing body siya, so 'yang principle na 'yan, tingin ko ma-a-apply 'yan sa mga ganitong situation, tulad ng impeachment.' (The principle of the Senate is that it is a continuing body, that's why there's 12-12. There's 12 incumbents like me and 12 others who are new. So it's a continuing body and that principle will apply in this kind of situation like the impeachment.) Senator Joel Villanueva also said that an impeachment court is still functional regardless if there are changes in members. He added that the vice president could question this before the Supreme Court, noting that the senators can discuss the matter next month. 'I think the SP is looking forward to having a caucus before the opening,' said Villanueva. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/BM, GMA Integrated News
IOL News
5 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
After Manyi's axing, focus now turns to MKP's Floyd Shivambu's future in the party
MK Party leader Jacob Zuma is said to be considering sacking Floyd Shivambu as a Secretary-General of the party. Image: archives The Jacob Zuma led MK Party (MKP) decision to axe Zuma's longtime confidante Mzwanele Manyi as Chief Whip has raised questions over the future of the current Secretary-General Floyd Shivambu. It has been reported that Manyi's removal as a party's parliamentary chief whip was prompted by his fallout with Zuma's deputy John Hlophe and stemmed from the State of the Nation Address debate where Manyi reportedly duped Hlophe into delivering a speech under the pretext that it was supplied by Zuma. It later emerged that Manyi had allegedly lied and the two exchanged heated arguments in front of the caucus members in a meeting which many said almost degenerated into physical fight. Party insiders said Manyi's removal signaled that more significant changes were to come and Shivambu's position was tenuous, especially after he had a fallout with Zuma's daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla. MKP spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela on Thursday dismissed the suggestions that Shivambu would be axed as 'rumours', accusing those behind these messages of being 'sensationalists'. "There is no correlation between Manyi's removal as chief whip and Shivambu. What does Manyi's removal have to do with the work of our SG. People always want to speculate (about these) things and we have heard this for a long time. There is no truth in this," said Ndhlela. Party members from Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the fact that Duduzile was not charged for publicly insulting Shivambu was a sign that Zuma was not prepared to sacrifice her over Shivambu. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading In February Zuma-Sambudla issued a public apology after using social media platform X to hurl insults at Shivambu. 'I do not think Shivambu will survive the coming political changes in the party. His issue is not only with Duduzile but also with party members in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng who are not comfortable with his leadership style. When Phumlani Mfeka resigned as both a party member and a member in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, he cited issues with Shivambu as one of the reasons,' said a source. Mfeka, who is the leader socio-economic group Injeje which is advocating for African nationalism, commands a lot of support from traditional leaders - something that Zuma regarding as an important constituency for his party. Dissenting voices within MKP have also been complaining about the parachuting of newcomers in the party, saying they were given senior positions while the founding members were being overlooked. Addressing the media on the sidelines of the national high command in Durban last month, Shivhambu dispelled rumours that there were members of the party who were not happy with his leadership and presence in the party. He said no member has raised these issues in the formal meetings of the party and he would not entertain faceless voices on social media platforms.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Spliced footage of Duterte-backed politician sparks turncoat claims
"Vic Rodriguez has defected, a former ally is now angry with the Dutertes," a narrator says in the video shared May 10, 2025 on Instagram. It appears to show lawyer Victor Rodriguez saying: "Let us also look for the billions of pesos Vice President Sara Duterte plundered from government funds. "Because you heard it from me and I'll say it again. Vice President Sara Duterte will be impeached and removed from office." Tagalog-language text overlaid to the clip goes on to claim he said the vice president should be jailed. Rodriguez, a former executive secretary to President Ferdinand Marcos, unsuccessfully ran for senator in the mid-term vote largely defined by the explosive feud between the archipelago's two highest officials. The vice president was impeached by the House of Representatives in February for "high crimes" including corruption and an alleged assassination plot against Marcos. Duterte's impeachment trial was a key talking point in the election which decided half the 24 senators who will serve as her jury (archived link). She needs nine votes for an acquittal. Losing would mean her removal and a permanent ban from public office but not imprisonment (archived link). Rodriguez threw his support behind Duterte after exiting the Marcos government less than three months into the new presidency in 2022 (archived link). Former president Rodrigo Duterte and daughter Sara both backed Rodriguez's failed Senate bid (archived here and here). The manipulated video first spread on TikTok in November 2024. It has been re-shared sporadically since, including on Facebook as a political advert in February. Philippine fact-checking organisation Vera Files has earlier debunked the posts. Keyword searches on Google found the original footage of Rodriguez, posted on his TikTok account on November 25, 2024, had the overlaid text "Protect VP Sara Duterte!" at the beginning of the video (archived link). This footage contained statements edited out in the circulating clip. "Let us also look for the billions of pesos plundered by the government, in particular, the over 500-billion-peso flood-control funds," Rodriguez can be heard saying. The statement appears to refer to a proposal for 10 infrastructure projects to manage flooding across the archipelago, written in a government document released after Marcos's State of the Nation Address in July 2024 (archived link). Rodriguez can also be heard saying, "Let us also protect Vice President Sara Duterte. Because you heard it from me and I'll say it again. They will impeach Vice President Sara Duterte and remove her from office." In social media posts published on his Facebook and TikTok accounts in January and February, Rodriguez reiterated his "staunch support" for the Dutertes and labelled the clips as "fake" (archived here and here). "An edited video is circulating published by a troll account to share false information," his statement on January 27 read. "Don't believe this." AFP has debunked more misinformation on the election here.
