VICE President Sara Z. Duterte should personally attend her impeachment trial just like retired Chief Justice Renato Corona when he went through the same proceedings in 2012, House prosecutor and San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora on Sunday.
Speaking in an interview on dzBB’s Bantay Balita sa Kongreso with Nimfa Ravelo and Isa Avendaño-Umali, Zamora said the House prosecution panel wants Duterte herself to appear before the Senate impeachment court instead of leaving the proceedings entirely to her lawyers.
During the first week of her impeachment trial, Duterte only visited the Senate to meet with her defense team and provide the press with a brief statement before the second trial day began.
Zamora said Atty. Lorna Kapunan, one of the House’s private prosecutors, asked if the vice president could be called to appear before the Senate impeachment court itself.
“Last week nga po pumunta siya at tinanong ni Atty. Lorna Kapunan kung nandun pa siya, kung pwede siyang ipatawag dahil gusto natin as prosecutors na mag-appear ang ating vice president, ang ating respondent,” she said.
The House impeachment prosecutor also stressed that the public had waited long enough for the impeachment trial to begin, and now that it is underway, the prosecution hopes to see the vice president face the impeachment court and answer the allegations against her herself like Corona did.
“Ang ating public ay ‘yun din ang kagustuhan dahil gusto natin siyang humarap, gusto natin siyang sumagot sa mga allegations against her. Kaya po dapat lang talagang magpakita siya sa impeachment trial niya. The past impeachment trial yung kay Chief Justice Renato Corona, nandun po siya,” she said.
Zamora made the remarks after being asked whether Duterte would personally attend this week’s trial dates, particularly with the scheduled testimony of the Office of the Vice President’s chief of staff, Atty. Zuleika Lopez, on Tuesday.
Lopez was present during the time Duterte had publicly uttered the alleged death threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.
She was detained at the House of Representatives in November 2024 after being cited in contempt by the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability. When Lopez was supposed to be transferred to the Women’s Correctional Facility, Duterte entered Lopez’s room and held a virtual press conference in the middle of the night, visibly irate for her chief of staff.
Last Thursday, after the first three days of the trial, Lopez visited the Senate for a coordination meeting with the Senate Secretary and Clerk of Court Renato Bantug Jr.
Zamora said the prosecution has no confirmation whether the vice president will be present in the coming weeks, but they learned that members of the defense had inquired about bringing housekeeping appliances for their use during the proceedings.
“Wala kami sa totoo lang na idea kung pupunta siya. Ang balita lang namin ay nag-inquire sila kung pwede silang magdala ng ref, coffee maker and the like. So, baka pumunta but we don’t know for certain. Tingnan na lang natin. But sabi nga kasi Atty. Lopez is the chief of staff of the VP, so maybe that’s why they are arranging those,” she said.
The prosecution has so far presented one witness, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Senior Agent John Mark Calilung, in arguing the grave threats case. For this week, they are expected to present three more witnesses, one for each day.
Addressing concerns regarding the trial’s pace, Zamora said that the proceedings will depend on each witness’s testimony and how the defense will cross-examine them. Regardless, she added that the prosecution is prepared to present two witnesses a day if necessary.
“Sa totoo lang, last week nandun na rin po ‘yung aming next witness. So prepared naman kami na mag-present ng at least two witnesses sa day. Syempre, naghihintay lang ang isa until matapos ang isa and if he will be allowed to testify by the presiding officer,” she said.
She noted that unlike the testimony of the prosecution’s first witness, which primarily dealt with the technical authentication of evidence, the next witnesses are expected to give more substantive testimony. Calilung testified on the video authentication of Duterte’s press conference.
“Hindi natin masabi na magiging mabilis o mas mabilis ang pag present ng witnesses this week. Kasi… iba-iba ang kanilang testimony. ‘Yung kay Calilung po, it was more technical, whereas the next ones will probably be more substantive more than technical,” she said.
While declining to identify additional witnesses beyond those already scheduled, Zamora said the prosecution had initially considered a much longer witness list covering different aspects of the alleged grave threats.
“Well syempre hindi ko masabi kung sino ang ating next witnesses pa, kung meron pa after the 3 this week. But madami po tayong pinag-uusapan sa prosecution. In fact, yung original line-up po natin ng witnesses ay mas mahaba or more than 4 at least,” she explained.
The Senate impeachment court is set to continue hearing the prosecution’s evidence and witness testimonies on Article IV of the articles of impeachment, which accuses Duterte of committing impeachable offenses through her alleged grave threats against the president.
Aside from Lopez, the Senate impeachment court has also issued a subpoena ad testificandum for NBI Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc and Capt. Belinda Bello of the House of Representatives Office of the Secretary General.
