Lopez may face contempt if she ignores subpoena

MANILA, Philippines — Office of the Vice President chief of staff Zuleika Lopez could be cited in contempt if she fails to comply with the subpoena issued by the Senate impeachment court. Impeachment court spokesman Regie Tongol said witnesses summoned by the court are generally required to appear unless they successfully challenge the subpoena on legal grounds. “When a court issues a subpoena, compliance is compulsory. A witness cannot simply refuse to appear except under specific exceptions recognized by the Rules of Court,” Tongol said over radio dzBB on Thursday. “If the witness fails to comply without a valid legal basis, he or she may be cited in contempt of court,” he added. Witnesses may question a subpoena only on limited grounds, such as when their testimony is irrelevant, the subpoena is defective or it was issued merely to harass them. The spokesman noted that lawyers representing subpoenaed witnesses are aware of the legal remedies available if they intend to contest the court order. Tongol, however, said that the court must first give Lopez an opportunity to explain any failure to appear before deciding whether contempt proceedings are warranted. “If a court order is not followed, the court may require the person to show cause why he or she should not be cited for contempt,” Tongol told reporters during a briefing on Friday. “The court has to determine whether there was a valid reason for not appearing, such as being out of the country or being ill, before it can consider contempt,” he added. Lopez was served a subpoena on Thursday directing her to appear before the impeachment court on July 13 and 14. Tongol clarified that although the order covers Monday, Lopez may not be scheduled to testify during the day because the prosecution is set to present National Bureau of Investigation regional director Jeremy Lotoc as its witness on that day. He said Lopez may comply with the subpoena by appearing either on Monday or Tuesday, when she is expected to take the witness stand. Meanwhile, the legal team of Vice President Sara Duterte said it was unaware of Lopez’s decision to visit the Senate on Thursday ahead of next week’s impeachment trial. In an interview with ANC, defense spokesman Michael Poa said Lopez did not inform the defense team before going to the Senate to attend to what he described as “administrative” matters. “We, at the defense, we never really had any communication with Undersecretary Lopez or the OVP. That’s why when she was there yesterday, as part of my preparations for probably the round of interviews that I’ll be doing, I just simply asked the staff, what was the purpose,” Poa said. “I was told the purpose was really administrative in nature.” — Bella Cariaso