The House of Representatives prosecution panel is set to conclude its presentation of evidence regarding Article IV of the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte next week, with National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag scheduled as its final witness.
Lead prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro shared the update on Wednesday afternoon, July 15, during the sixth day of the ongoing Senate impeachment trial.
During her manifestation before Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who serves as the trial’s presiding officer, Luistro announced that the panel would no longer call six of the witnesses they had initially lined up under Article IV, which covers allegations of grave threats and inciting to sedition.
“This withdrawal, Your Honor, renders Attorney Melvin Matibag, the NBI director, as our last witness for threat, who will be testifying this coming Tuesday, Your Honor,” Luistro manifested.
Luistro explained that the prosecution decided to trim down its lineup after concluding that additional testimonies would be repetitive, cumulative, or otherwise unnecessary to establish their case.
This adjustment follows a similar decision made during Tuesday night’s session, when the prosecution dropped Office of the Vice President Chief of Staff Atty. Zuleika Lopez and House Legislative Security Bureau officer Capt. Belinda Bello from the witness list for matching reasons.
”We would like to acknowledge the positive response of the Honorable Impeachment Court to our previous manifestation,” Luistro said.
Initially, the prosecution had identified 11 individuals to testify under Article IV, an accusation that several lawmakers view as one of the most critical aspects of the overall impeachment complaint against the Vice President.
To date, two NBI officials have testified before the court: NBI Senior Agent John Mark Calilung and NBI Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc.
Calilung verified the authenticity of the video recorded on November 23, 2024, containing Duterte’s controversial statements, while Lotoc presented the bureau’s formal assessment, which concluded that the threats were “serious, actual, and real.”