The name of former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque was mentioned amid Sen. Robin Padilla‘s question about who recorded Vice President Sara Duterte‘s controversial press conference in November 2024.
Padilla, one of the senator-judges in Duterte’s impeachment trial, on Wednesday, July 8, asked National Bureau of Investigation senior agent John Mark Calilung who recorded the briefing and whether he had spoken with that person.
The fourth article of impeachment which covers the grave threats allegedly uttered by Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez, is being tackled by the impeachment court.
The article refers to a press conference Duterte held via Zoom for members of the media and her supporters on Nov. 23, 2024.
During the trial, Padilla said it was important to determine who recorded the press conference and whether Calilung had spoken with that person.
Calilung said the video is publicly available because the press conference was conducted online.
“Hindi po, ‘yung mismong nag-record po kay Inday, sa vice president, nakausap niyo po ba? ‘Yung RAW file po. Kasi napakahalaga po nun. Kasi dun po natin malalaman kung original ba o hindi,” Padilla said.
Calilung said he was the one who recorded the livestream using software.
SINO ‘YUNG NAG-RECORD?#SaraOnTrial: Senator-judge Robin Padilla questioned NBI senior agent John Mark Calilung on who recorded Vice President Sara Duterte’s virtual press briefing in November 2024.
During the third day of Duterte’s impeachment trial on Wednesday, Padilla said… pic.twitter.com/XexTpt3Hgn
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) July 8, 2026
The exchange caught the attention of political commentator Jesus Falcis, who quipped that he could be summoned to “testify” that the threats were real because he was “there.”
“Pinanuod at minonitor ko ‘yung Zoom meeting through the account of Harry Roque, who streamed it on his page. Pahamak talaga siya!” he quipped with a laughing emoji.
Falcis also reshared a Facebook post he made during that time.
Another online user quipped that Roque should be blamed because he was the one who uploaded the recording to his Facebook page.
“Pero ang puno’t dulo pala talaga nito ay kung hindi in-upload ni Harry Roque ‘tong Zoom meeting na ‘to sa FB page niya ay wala tong Articles of Impeachment na to, kaso need ni Harry Roque ng views from DDS para sa monetization from Meta. HAHAHAHA!!!!!! #VPonTrial,” the Pinoy wrote.
“Hindi talaga nakikinig ng maigi si Boy Sili, ano? Sinabi na ng witness kahapon na lahat ng video na prinesent ay galing mismo sa OFFICIAL page ng VP. Or in this case, the clip being questioned, galing sa 2-hr video posted by Harry Roque,” another user wrote.
Calilung previously said that Duterte’s press conference was uploaded to Roque’s Facebook page.
Meanwhile, Roque shared his views on whether Duterte’s alleged grave threats could be considered an impeachable offense.
“Sabihin na nating totoong grave threats ‘yan, or it’s inciting to sedition, eh, ano ngayon? Ang impeachment ay para lamang sa pinaka-seryosong mga krimen or sa pagtaksil sa sinumpaang katungkulan ng pinakamatataas na employado ng gobyerno,” he said in an interview.
He also said it is a “light offense” and is “not impeachable.”
“Kahit sabihin nating tama lahat ng sinasabi nila, hindi pa rin ‘yan nagqu-qualify as an impeachable offense,” Roque added.
What Duterte said
It can be recalled that, during the press conference, Duterte, made remarks about supposedly hiring an assassin to kill Marcos, his wife and Romualdez if something bad were happen to her.
The remarks came after a supporter urged her to stay safe, saying she was in enemy territory.
At that time, the vice president was at the detention facility where Office of the Vice President’s chief-of-staff, Zuleika Lopez, was being held after the House of Representatives cited her in contempt.
“‘Wag kang mag-alala sa security ko kasi may kinausap na ako na tao. Sinabi ko sa kanya, ‘pag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM [Bongbong Marcos], si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke,” Duterte said in November 2024.
“Nagbilin na ako, Ma’am,” she added, addressing a supporter.
“‘Pag namatay ako, ‘wag ka tumigil hanggang hindi mo mapapatay sila. And then, he said, yes,” Duterte continued.
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