THE House prosecution panel has asked the Senate Impeachment Court to issue a subpoena compelling Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s chief of staff, Atty. Zuleika Lopez, to appear as a witness in the impeachment trial, identifying her testimony as “material, relevant and necessary” to proving Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment, which accuses the Vice President of making grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
In a request for the issuance of a subpoena ad testificandum filed Tuesday, prosecutors said Lopez’s testimony is necessary not only to establish the allegations under Article IV but also to identify and authenticate documentary and other evidence that will be presented before the impeachment court. They asked that she be directed to appear during hearings scheduled on July 13, 14 and 15.
The move places one of the Vice President’s closest aides at the center of the prosecution’s presentation of evidence on the grave threats article. As Duterte’s chief of staff, Lopez occupied one of the highest-ranking positions in the Office of the Vice President and is expected to testify on matters surrounding the circumstances in which the alleged threats were made.
Her testimony is expected to provide the court with firsthand information from within the Office of the Vice President regarding the events surrounding Duterte’s public statements. Prosecutors are expected to use her testimony to establish context and corroborate other evidence supporting their claim that the statements constituted serious threats rather than mere political rhetoric.
The subpoena request also signals that the prosecution intends to build its case through witnesses with direct knowledge of events inside the Office of the Vice President, alongside documentary, digital and testimonial evidence, instead of relying solely on publicly available recordings of the Vice President’s statements.
If the impeachment court grants the request, Lopez will become one of the prosecution’s key witnesses when hearings on Article IV begin next week.
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