The House prosecution team clarified that its decision to exclude Office of the Vice President (OVP) Chief of Staff Atty. Zuleika Lopez from its lineup of witnesses in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial was not born out of fear.
Speaking to reporters during a press conference at the Senate after the trial’s fifth day of proceedings, prosecution counsel Atty. Lorna Kapunan explained that Lopez was removed from the roster simply because her testimony was no longer vital to their case.
According to Kapunan, the panel had already established its core arguments through previous witnesses and evidence, rendering Lopez’s appearance “unnecessary, redundant, and surplusage.”
Kapunan firmly rejected any insinuations that the panel was “naduwag” or “natakot” to confront the OVP chief of staff on the stand:
”And those of you who know me, and I see many familiar faces here, know that hindi ako maatras at all. In fact, I killed a mosquito with an atomic bomb. This was not necessary here,” Kapunan said.
She emphasized that the choice was a tactical move based on the prosecution’s ongoing evaluation of the trial’s progress, rather than a lack of willingness to face Lopez.
The prosecution had previously announced that both Lopez and Capt. Belinda Bello of the House Legislative Security Bureau would no longer be called to testify in the ongoing impeachment proceedings.