House Prosecutors Seek Early Testimony from NBI Director in Sara Duterte Impeachment Trial

House prosecutors on Monday asked the Senate impeachment court to allow National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag to testify in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday, July 14 — earlier than his expected testimony. House prosecutor and Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor made the request during the fourth day of Duterte’s impeachment trial, citing a letter from Matibag informing prosecutors that the NBI had been invited by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for a regional summit in Thailand. “The prosecution is in receipt of a letter dated July 10, 2026 from NBI Director Melvin Matibag requesting that his testimony be scheduled or calendared at the earliest setting, considering that the NBI has been invited by the FBI, in coordination with the Royal Thai Police for a Regional Summit on Scam Center Compounds and Transnational Organized Crimes,” Defensor told the impeachment court. “In that regard, the prosecution would like to request the scheduled testimony of Director Matibag be scheduled tomorrow after the testimony of our second witness after Atty. Jeremy A. Lotoc,” he said. The second week of Duterte’s impeachment trial begins with the House prosecution panel presenting new witnesses. Lotoc is scheduled to take the witness stand on July 13, while Office of the Vice President (OVP) chief-of-staff Zuleika Lopez is expected to testify on July 14. Defensor said prosecutors are intending to proceed with Lopez’s presentation after Matibag, who was expected to be presented as a witness on Wednesday. “The 21 of us are here…We put aside so many important things and one witness who is in the government, who is a bureau head, will tell us sorry but because he has to be with the FBI, siya na ang mauuna tomorrow. That might be a bad precedent,” Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano said. The Defense team also expressed opposition to the request, saying that granting it would violate the five-day notice rule for surprise witnesses and may set a bad precedent. “We would have to oppose on the basis of the following: it will be in violation of the impeachment court’s directive given last week; it will be a violation of the five-day notice rule…the prosecution cannot compel the defense and this impeachment court to present witnesses according to their schedule,” lawyer Mark Vinluan, one of Duterte’s legal counsel, said. Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero, for his part, said no subpoena has been issued against Matibag. He is also not included in the prosecution’s list of witnesses for the week. Escudero then asked House prosecutors to have Matibag submit copies of his travel authority and official invitation from the FBI for the court’s evaluation of their request. “We will submit in good faith whatever the prosecution has received from Matibag,” Defensor added. —AOL, GMA News