Pimentel warns vs presenting hostile witnesses in Sara Duterte impeachment trial

Former Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III has urged caution against presenting hostile witnesses in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, as the House prosecution panel plans to present her longtime aide, Zuleika Lopez, as its third witness on Tuesday. On the fifth day of Duterte’s trial on Tuesday, Lopez arrived at the Senate past 1 p.m. Pimentel told GMA News in an interview, “Presenting hostile witnesses is something you have to be very careful with because sometimes, you get absolutely nothing out of them.” He questioned, “Especially in this case—what exactly do they want to show? That she was in the room? Okay, so?” Lopez is a witness to the alleged grave threats and assassination plot made by Duterte against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and his family during an online press conference in November 2024. A video of this was presented in the early days of the trial, showing Lopez sitting in the same room with the Vice President. Pimentel argued that Lopez, as a hostile witness, could simply deny that she did not hear anything Duterte said. He demonstrated, “They might say, ‘Well, you heard everything.’ And she will just reply, ‘No, actually, I didn’t hear it.’” “Personally, I want to see how it plays out if they push through with it—though they can actually still choose not to,” he added. At this point of the trial, the former lawmaker said that he cannot yet say what the prosecution panel can establish with Lopez, adding that he looks forward to how the trial will unfold. However, when asked if Lopez can break the prosecution’s case, Pimentel said: “Right now, it looks like they got blocked—like in basketball—in this specific attempt.” Moving forward As the Vice President’s impeachment moves forward, Pimentel advised against making the proceedings too technical. “Impeachment shouldn't be strictly technical; it shouldn't feel like we're just in a regular court of law. It should be a bit more lenient when it comes to technical rules,” Pimentel said. However, during the proceedings, Pimentel said that public policy must always be observed. “For example, you can't force the impeached official to answer and testify against herself. Or forcing her spouse to testify against his own partner—that's not allowed either,” Pimentel explained. In the coming weeks, Pimentel said he expects the impeachment trial to speed up as the Senate court, prosecution, and defense panel adapts to the process. He anticipates that three to four witnesses could be presented this week if the pace quickens. —RF, GMA News