A fresh lineup of witnesses will be presented by the House prosecution team to support the fourth Article of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.
This particular charge is anchored on the Vice President’s controversial remarks claiming she contracted an assassin to target President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez should she be killed.
The adjustment in legal strategy was confirmed Tuesday evening by Atty. Regie Tongol, the spokesperson for the impeachment court. This development follows the prosecution’s decision to withdraw OVP Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez and House Legislative Security Bureau Captain Belinda Bello from their roster of intended witnesses.
Although NBI Director Melvin Matibag has played a prominent role in recent hearings, Tongol clarified that Matibag will not be the final witness called to testify on Article IV. The identities of the upcoming witnesses for the prosecution remain confidential.
The decision to bypass the testimonies of Lopez and Bello is expected to expedite the trial’s progression. Tongol pointed out that the 11 trial days initially set aside exclusively for Article IV may be shortened because of the streamlined witness list.
The overarching impeachment trial is bound by a strict 92-day timeline established by the court to guarantee a prompt resolution.
Under this schedule, the prosecution has been allocated 62 days to present its evidence, while the defense has been allotted a 30-day period to present its counterarguments.