Atty. Zuleika Lopez FILE

House prosecutors are seeking to bring Vice President Sara Duterte and her longtime chief of staff, Atty. Zuleika Lopez, to the witness stand as they build their case over allegations that the Vice President made grave threats against the country's top officials.

During Tuesday's impeachment proceedings, the prosecution informed the Senate impeachment court that it plans to call Duterte as a hostile witness while presenting evidence on Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment, which accuses her of making grave threats and committing acts of sedition.

House counsel Atty. Lorna Kapunan raised the matter after Duterte briefly appeared at the Senate earlier in the day but left after meeting with her legal team. Before departing, the Vice President told reporters:

"In this bloodbath and bludgeoning, I will be bloodied but unbowed."

Kapunan told the impeachment court that Duterte herself is one of the prosecution's principal witnesses.

"One of the key witnesses, hostile, would be the Vice President," Kapunan said.

"We are already respectfully informing this Honorable Court that we will manifest that we will have a written request for her presence in connection with this article on grave threats," she added.

Presiding Officer Sen. Francis Escudero said the impeachment court would only rule on the request once the prosecution formally files its motion.

"The impeachment rules do not mandate nor require the respondent to attend any hearing or trial of the impeachment court," Escudero said.

"Whether she was in the building earlier or arrived after, it is totally up to the respondent because from the point of view of the court, she is represented in this court through her counsel already."

Escudero added that the defense would be given an opportunity to respond if prosecutors formally seek Duterte's appearance.

Kapunan accepted the ruling but emphasized that the prosecution was not giving up its right to compel the Vice President to testify.

"With that, we will reserve the right. We are not waiving the right to call her at the appropriate time and to file the appropriate request for subpoena duces tecum and subpoena testificandum," she said.

Aside from Duterte, prosecutors have also asked the impeachment court to issue a subpoena requiring Lopez to appear as a witness during hearings scheduled on July 13, 14 and 15.

In their motion, prosecutors described Lopez's testimony as "material, relevant and necessary" to proving Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment. They said Duterte's chief of staff is expected to help identify and authenticate documentary and digital evidence that will be presented before the impeachment court.

Lopez served as one of Duterte's closest advisers and was at the center of the events surrounding the Nov. 23, 2024 online press briefing that became the basis of the grave threats charge. She was also previously cited in contempt by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability during its investigation into the Office of the Vice President's confidential funds, an incident that preceded Duterte's controversial remarks.

If the impeachment court grants the prosecution's request, Lopez would become one of its key witnesses as hearings on Article IV continue next week.

The House prosecution has said it intends to rely on a combination of witness testimony, authenticated digital evidence and official government records to prove its case. Duterte, meanwhile, has denied the allegations against her and maintains that the impeachment proceedings are politically motivated.