We're now on Week 2 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s historic impeachment trial.
When the Senate gavel fell last week to open such reckoning, it was an intense trial by fire. For the Philippine media, such a trial is the ultimate broadcasting showdown that requires stamina, strong legal literacy, a solid team of anchors, and expert mastery of live production.
The 2026 media landscape is vastly more fragmented than during Renato Corona’s 2012 trial or Joseph Estrada's 2000-01. Legacy networks are leaner, digital challengers are bolder, and state-backed channels are asserting unprecedented independence for the moment (while they still report the incumbent President's policies and POV).
The coverage highlights a stark contrast between veteran composure, rookie ambitions, structural failures, and surprising comebacks across all media outlets.
The Legacy Giants: Veterans vs. Missing Infrastructure
ANC (ABS-CBN News Channel)
The seasoned veterans are back, exhibiting the unwavering muscle memory of an institution that has navigated numerous presidential and judicial crises. At 30, ANC remains the gold standard for "prestige" trial coverage— now, their third time.
Their legal analysts don’t just read the room; they plan trial strategy phases in advance. When Atty. Israelito Torreon’s defense submitted a 16-page manifestation to the Supreme Court challenging Sen. Chiz Escudero’s role as presiding officer; ANC anchors promptly contextualized it within previous trial maneuvers. Their calm pacing, clean visuals, and steady, authoritative tone make ANC handle national crises as seamlessly as a regular Tuesday—because, historically, it has.
GMA Network
GMA is a paradox of vast technological reach and stubborn institutional inertia. Despite top ratings and deep pockets (since the start of this decade), their coverage feels logistically neglected.
Since GMA News TV was replaced by GTV—focusing heavily on entertainment, sports (now gone), and movies—the network has lacked a dedicated, agile news platform for continuous, long-form broadcasts. This missing infrastructure still haunts them.
Despite the industrial ordeal, their failure to establish a fully operational DZBB Teleradyo (even on their DTT multiplex) has left them exposed. By the time they scrambled to secure a stable visual feed for the 2026 trial, it was too late. (I think of James Romer Velina, this radio station fanboy, when this happened.)
GMA has the personnel on the ground and top reporters in the Senate, but without a dedicated, nonstop news channel, their coverage feels fragmented, competing for airtime alongside regular programming and commercials.
The New Wave and The Re-Emergent: From First-Timers to Digital Pioneers
One News (News5)
This trial is a historic milestone for Cignal TV’s premium news brand: their first time anchoring a full-scale impeachment trial, featuring personalities (some of whom were ABS alums) like Cathy Yang, Ces Drilon, and Nikki de Guzman (the millennial's dream femme journo). Typically known for polished, corporate-style studios and English-language analysis, they now face the chaotic, lengthy reality of an impeachment court.
Yet, One News has adapted impressively. Rather than compete with the visceral emotion of radio-TV simulcasts, they've carved a niche for the analytical viewer (something ANC had done before 2020). Their clean graphics and serious panel discussions treat the legal chess match with the weight of an international geopolitical event. It's a stellar debut that shows their newsroom has matured into a definitive broadsheet-style broadcast.
Rappler
This trial marks the digital-native powerhouse's second run, a sharp contrast to their debut 14 years ago during the Corona trial. Back then, Rappler was the disruptive upstart, leveraging live blogs, mood meters, and social media to challenge a regime dominated by traditional TV.
Today, Rappler symbolizes the rise of the alternative press, yet the face of analytical coverage when commercial titans act cowardly to protect their image or to desperately survive. Their coverage of the Duterte trial is highly structured, investigative, and laser-focused on tracing the ₱612.5 million confidential funds across the OVP and DepEd. They've shifted from early, chaotic internet disruption to a forensic, document-based approach, offering a vital context library for a younger audience that consumes the trial in vertical snippets rather than lengthy TV segments.
Bilyonaryo News Channel (BNC)
If there's a wildcard in this media circus, it's Bilyonaryo's debut on television. On its first full broadcast, BNC crafted a masterful panel that feels like a nostalgic throwback to early 2010s politics.
They enlisted Korina Sanchez for mass appeal and paired her with Atty. Edwin Lacierda (a slick former spokesperson for President Benigno Aquino III) balanced the team with Atty. Karen Jimeno (famously remembered by eagle-eyed observers for her prominent stint as one of the defense lawyers of Corona).
This panel exudes chemistry. Lacierda offers insights from the executive side, while Jimeno explains how defense tactics aim to delay or dismantle prosecution efforts. BNC’s debut is bold, costly, and strategically sharp.
But the coverage is on a livestream as their TV platform goes on regular coverage.
ALIW Channel 23
Another television debutant, ALIW Channel 23, brings the raw, unvarnished energy of AM radio (DWIZ) into the visual space. It is their first time handling an event of this magnitude on TV since they get awarded in 2022, and the seams occasionally show in terms of production value and set design.
However, what they lack in corporate polish, they make up for in directness.
State Media Reborn: The Rise of Independent Feeds
IBC 13 and Congress TV
The most notable institutional shift in this trial belongs to IBC 13. Traditionally, they served as passive relay towers transmitting the People’s Television Network (PTV) feed. For the 2026 trial, IBC 13 has established some independence via Congress TV, on its digital terrestrial television (DTT) multiplex. However, for the general channel, the trial timing coincides with PCSO's early afternoon 2D and 3D draws, lasting 15 minutes, with another occurrence at 5 PM.
Freed from PTV’s state-vetted aesthetics (but not the narrative), Congress TV has created a fully localized, self-contained platform for the trial. This independence has enabled them to elevate impeachment beyond an administrative report, turning it into a premier broadcast event.
The crown jewel of this new effort is Harapan, a slick, tightly produced 30-minute pre-trial proper show aired before the Impeachment Court begins. Hosted by the seasoned Jing Magsaysay and steady Lovely Granada, it serves as the ultimate primer for the day's proceedings—explaining legal terms, previewing witnesses, and recapping previous cross-examinations, all without partisan fluff.
The program's true surprise is its rotating pundit chair. Last Wednesday (July 8), viewers saw Chris Tan's appearance (in place of Granada). Longtime fans of Philippine pop culture will find it surreal to see Tan sit across Magsaysay discussing constitutional law. It’s hard to believe this is the same Chris Tan who, in the early 2000s, chased college girls and navigated teenage angst on “Yeah Boy!” (You can thank UndustFixation for unearthing the obscured show.) Fast forward to 2026, and he’s become a crypto-loving, fast-talking, highly analytical political pundit. His tech-driven, modern economic views often clash with Magsaysay’s old-school journalistic tone, but the dynamic works brilliantly, giving Harapan a unique, unpredictable edge.
The Verdict on the Coverage
ANC holds the institutional memory but no longer feels as sharp as before.
GMA has the ground troops but lacks a dedicated home for them.
Bilyonaryo has perfected nostalgic panel chemistry.
Congress TV via IBC 13 has transformed state TV into a must-watch procedural hub.
As the Senate continues to endure these grueling sessions, the media outlets that maintain credibility won’t be the loudest or highest-rated, but those capable of translating complex constitutional law into a clear, transparent record for a public watching history unfold in real time.
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