Prosecution Seeks to Call Sara Duterte as Witness in Impeachment Trial

Prosecutors on Tuesday sought to call Vice President Sara Duterte as a witness in her impeachment trial. Private prosecutor lawyer Lorna Kapunan said Duterte's presence would be relevant to Tuesday's impeachment trial, which will tackle the "Assassination Plot, Grave Threats and Inciting to Sedition Against the President." "One of the key witnesses, albeit hostile, would be the Vice President. And therefore, if we can inquire if it is her intention to again appear in the premises of the Senate because we are already respectfully informing this honorable court that we will manifest that we will have a written request for her presence in connection with this article on grave threats, Your Honor," Kapunan told the impeachment court. Kapunan stated that media reports indicated that Duterte was in the Senate before her impeachment trial. In her brief appearance to the media inside the Senate premises, the Vice President said, "in this bloodbath and bludgeoning, I will be bloodied but unbowed." Duterte did not give a further statement nor answer any queries from the media. In response to Kapunan's manifestation, presiding officer Senator Francis Escudero said the respondent is not required to attend the impeachment trial and that a formal request must first be made for her attendance to be required. "The impeachment rules do not mandate nor require the respondent to attend any hearing or trial of the impeachment court, whether she was in the building earlier or arrived after. It is totally up to the respondent because, from our point of view, she is represented in this court through her counsel already," Escudero said. "Should the counsel for the prosecutors desire to call the respondent herself, the court will add on that motion request once it is made and/or filed, and need not make a ruling at this point time," he added. Escudero said he responded to Kapunan's manifestation to avoid the parties engaging in a debate before the presentation of the witnesses. On Tuesday's impeachment trial, the impeachment court is expected to discuss Article 4 of the Articles of Impeachment. To recall, during her expletive-laden online press conference in November 2024, Duterte said: "Pt** ina ninyong lahat—Martin Romualdez, Liza Marcos, Bongbong Marcos. Huwag kang mag-alala, Ma'am, sa security ko, kasi may kinausap na ako na tao. Sabi ko sa kanya, kapag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez. ("*Expletive* Don't worry about my security because I've already talked to someone. I told that person that if I am killed, kill BBM, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez.) "No joke, no joke. Nagbilin na ako, Ma'am. 'Pag mamatay ako, sabi ko, huwag ka tumigil hanggang hindi mo mapatay sila." National Bureau of Investigation agents Jeremy Lotoc and John Mark Calilung and Captain Belinda Bello, Legislative Security Bureau executive director of the House of Representatives Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms, are expected to speak before the impeachment court on Tuesday. Calilung has taken the witness stand as of posting time. The House of Representatives impeached Duterte in May over allegations of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes. On May 18, the Senate convened as an impeachment court. On June 1, Duterte's camp filed their answer to the Articles of Impeachment, asking the court to junk the impeachment case against her. — VDV, GMA News