Zuleika Lopez arrives during Day 5 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on Monday, July 14, 2026. —Inquirer photo/Niño Jesus Orbeta
MANILA, Philippines — House prosecutors on Tuesday dropped plans to question Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief aide and a House security official, saying the testimonies of their first two witnesses were enough to support the charge that the country’s second-highest official had threatened to kill President Marcos, the first lady and the former Speaker.
One of the private lawyers helping the prosecution, Lorna Kapunan, told the Senate impeachment court that it was already “unnecessary” and “redundant” to present Zuleika Lopez, chief of staff of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), and Belinda Bello, the executive director of the House legislative security bureau.
Kapunan said they initially planned to present Lopez, also a lawyer, as a witness to establish that she was “personally present” during the profanity-laced online press conference on Nov. 23, 2024, when Duterte made the alleged threats to the President, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez.
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