MANILA. Philippines — The Prosecution team is no longer calling Office of the Vice President Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez and Captain Belinda Bello of the House of Representatives as the two witnesses have made "sufficient" testimony on the fourth article of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, one of its lawyers said on Tuesday.
The fourth article involves an alleged grave threat by Duterte to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Marcos, and former speaker Martin Romualdez assassinated if she is killed.
Private prosecutor Lorna Patajo Kapunan said in a manifestation that that both the prosecution and the defense made "legal calisthenics" over the first two witnesses, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Special Agent John Mark Calilung and Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc.
She also said both Caliliung and Lotoc were "competent to testify on the matters that they were asked to authenticate."
The prosecution was supposed to call Lopez and Bello to the stand.
"After the very clarificatory and probing questions of our senator judges, it is the wisdom of the public prosecutors, as expressed to this representation that we find it totally uncessesary, redundant, and a surplusage to still present Zuleika Lopez and Captain Belinda Bello," Kapunan said.
She said that Lopez could have proven that she was present during the detention cell where the vice president made the statements and claimed that she contracted an assassin to kill the Marcoses and Romualdez – a matter that has been proven by defense counsel Mark Vinluan in his closing arguments.
"He [Vinluan] says that the vice president did not act as vice president when she made those utterances, He tried to give a humane picture to the vice president," Kapunan said.
Kapunan also said that it was "totally unnecessary" for Lopez to testify on the authenticity of the video as the Defense used the very same one to prove their defense.
"By their own admission, there is no question about this video," Kapunan said.
In the press briefing that followed the trial, Kapunan said that Bello would only attest to the fact that she personally knew the vice president and Lopez and that they were both in the detention center and had served the transfer order – all "undisputable" facts.
Kapunan also said that they would evaluate whether they would issue a subpoena to NBI Director Melvin Matibag to the witness stand next week despite the withdrawal of Lopez and Bello.
Meanwhle, Defense counsel and spokesman Michael Wesley Poa said that the motion of the prosecution to withdraw both Lopez and Bello was at their discretion, but admitted that they did not expect the move of the prosecution.
"I am very candid with these things, but that was the prerorgative of the prosecution," Poa said.
Whether Lopez would be called to the witness stand for the defense remains to be seen, according to Poa, noting that they have "reserve witnesses" whom they would present.
