Matibag requests new date for impeachment testimony

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Atty. Melvin Matibag has asked the House prosecution panel to reschedule his testimony in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte due to an official overseas commitment.

In a letter to House Lead Prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, Matibag said he is available to testify before the Senate impeachment court on or before 20 July, ahead of his trip to Thailand.

Matibag said he was invited by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to attend the inaugural Regional Summit on Scam Center Compounds and Transnational Organized Crime in Bangkok on 21 and 22 July.

“As Director of the Bureau, I will personally attend to represent the NBI at this summit of director- and commissioner general-level law enforcement across the Asia-Pacific, which will require my travel attendance on those dates,” Matibag said in his letter.

The NBI chief, to avoid affecting the impeachment proceedings, requested that his testimony be scheduled before his departure.

“In view thereof, I respectfully request that I be scheduled to take the witness stand prior to my departure so that my participation in the Summit will neither disrupt the proceedings nor delay the presentation of my testimony. I remain fully prepared to cooperate and to make myself available at any earlier date the Panel may determine,” he added.

The request comes as the House prosecution panel continues to present witnesses and evidence before the Senate impeachment court in the ongoing trial of Vice President Duterte.

Matibag's testimony is expected to form part of the prosecution's presentation in the high-profile proceedings.