National bird? Kapunan mishears Lacson

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July 16, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Laughter broke out before the end of Day 5 of the impeachment trial on Tuesday night after House private prosecution lawyer Lorna Kapunan said something about “birds.”

The brief respite from the legal discourse happened during Kapunan’s speech about shortening the proceedings now that they have decided to scrap as witness Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief of staff Zuleika Lopez and House Legislative Security Bureau executive director Capt. Belinda Bello.

“I can see Sen. Panfilo Lacson coming in at narinig ko po yung kaniyang interview noong sinabi po niya na baka magka-apo na tayo rito at magkaroon na ng national bird, eh hindi pa tapos ang impeachment trial,” Kapunan said, referring to how she overheard Lacson’s interview wherein he said they may all have grandchildren and a national bird named by the time the trial is over.

The mention of a national bird caught the attention of presiding officer Francis Escudero, who asked: “Bird? Ma’am, you said national bird?”

Kapunan said she first heard the reference from Lacson, who denied it.

“It must be another senator-judge or another person… I never talked about birds,” Lacson said, drawing laughter from the audience.

Kapunan said she must have misheard the supposed interview, laughing it off as mere “hearsay.”