Zuleika testimony critical — prosecution
Lopez had earlier been cited in contempt during an inquiry into the Office of the Vice President’s confidential funds.
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Lopez had earlier been cited in contempt during an inquiry into the Office of the Vice President’s confidential funds.
Office of the Vice President chief of staff Zuleika Lopez is expected to take the witness stand this week as the House prosecution seeks to strengthen its case against Vice President Sara Duterte in the Senate impeachment trial.
House private prosecutor Jay Tolosa said Lopez’s testimony is crucial because she was present when Duterte allegedly uttered threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
“Just in broad strokes, the defense pointed out certain portions of the video showing Atty. Zuleika, meaning she was there when these utterances were made,” Tolosa said before Monday’s proceedings.
“So it is clear, when she is called as a witness, her testimony would be relevant because she was in the same room, same place when the threats took place,” he added.
Tolosa referred to the video authenticated last week by National Bureau of Investigation senior agent John Mark Calilung, which the prosecution presented to support Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment.
The recording captured Duterte’s statement that she had allegedly instructed an assassin to kill Marcos, the First Lady and Romualdez should she herself be assassinated.
Conditional
The prosecution spent the trial’s opening week authenticating the video and presenting documentary evidence supporting the article covering the alleged threats.
During cross-examination, the defense itself highlighted portions of the recording showing Lopez inside the room while the statements were made, which Tolosa said reinforced the relevance of her testimony.
The defense has argued that Duterte’s remarks were conditional and made in response to what it described as oppressive treatment by the House of Representatives, where Lopez had earlier been cited in contempt during an inquiry into the Office of the Vice President’s confidential funds.
Defense spokesperson Michael Poa also questioned the manner in which prosecutors intend to present Office of the Vice President chief of staff Zuleika Lopez as a witness.
He said prosecutors must first convince the Senate impeachment court that Lopez qualifies as a hostile witness before they may ask leading questions.
“We’ll first see the prosecution’s presentation. If there are matters we need to clarify or bring out, then we will conduct a cross-examination,” Poa said.
Senate Clerk of Court Renato Bantug Jr., however, said it remains up to the prosecution to determine how Lopez will be presented, including whether it will seek to classify her as an adverse witness.
An adverse witness is one identified with the opposing party and may be examined through leading questions. A hostile witness, meanwhile, must first be declared hostile by the court before broader questioning is allowed.
