Sara Duterte camp undecided on inviting NBI chief Matibag as witness

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte’s legal team on Tuesday said it has yet to consider inviting National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag as one of its own witnesses in their client’s impeachment trial. This stems from Matibag’s remark during the defense’s cross-examination on the eighth day of the impeachment trial where he was invited as the prosecution panel’s third and final witness as the court tackles Article IV of the impeachment complaints against Duterte. READ: LIVE UPDATES: Impeachment trial of VP Sara Duterte | July 21, 2026 During the cross-examination, Matibag was asked if he met with the prosecution before he stood as a witness during the trial proper, to which he responded he did—specifically with lead House prosecutor Gerville Luistro–but only to talk about matters covered by his testimony. “In the same way that when you want to present me as your witness, I will be more than willing to sit down with the defense counsel,” he said. In response to Matibag’s pronouncement during a press conference, defense panel spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa said there’s nothing definite on the matter. “That will depend. Sa ngayon, wala pa naman po. Wala pa kaming napag-uusapan (right now, nothing yet. We haven’t talked about anything yet)…,” said Poa in a press conference, further stating that the defense would also have to wait for its time to present evidence before making a decision. “If that changes, then perhaps we’ll need to talk about that,” he added. Poa clarified that the only reason the defense team questioned whether Matibag met with the prosecution panel before his appearance in the trial was just to test if his testimony was rehearsed or not. “But again, let’s be fair to Director Matibag, he explained that yes, he did talk to the prosecution, but the conversation was just with the scope, what the scope of his testimony would be,” said Poa partly in Filipino. “And that’s normal. So that’s okay,” he added. Article IV revolves around the alleged assassination threats Vice President Duterte made against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. /gsg