MANILA. Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan during the second day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. Screenshot from Senate video. Published on: Jul 07, 2026, 7:56 am.
Prosecution to call VP Duterte as hostile witness
The House prosecution panel announced on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, its intention to seek a subpoena compelling Vice President Sara Duterte to testify as a witness in her impeachment trial. The move specifically targets Article IV of the complaint, which accuses Duterte of making grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
During the proceedings before the impeachment court, prosecution counsel Lorna Kapunan informed the Senate that the panel is considering calling Duterte as a “hostile witness” when it begins presenting evidence on that article. Kapunan first sought to confirm whether Duterte, who had earlier been seen at the Senate, intended to attend the day’s proceedings.
“We have seen an interview conducted in the Senate premises of the Vice President herself. My query is directed to the defense counsel if the Vice President is in the premises, does she intend to attend the trial?” Kapunan said.
Court rules on subpoena process
Kapunan noted that the impeachment court had directed the prosecution to identify in advance the witnesses it intends to present so that the court could determine whether subpoenas should be issued when necessary. “This court will recall your own statements that on Tuesdays, every Tuesday of every week, the prosecution must indicate the witnesses they intend to present to enable the impeachment court to issue, when appropriate and if deemed necessary, a subpoena for such witness,” she said.
Kapunan added that one of the prosecution’s key witnesses for the article on grave threats would be Duterte herself. “We are already respectfully informing this court that we will manifest that we will have a written request for her presence in connection with this article on grave threats,” she added.
Presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero, however, clarified that the impeachment rules do not require the respondent to personally attend the hearings because she is already represented by her legal counsel. He added that whether Duterte chooses to be present at the Senate “is totally up to the respondent because she is represented in this court through her counsel already.” Escudero said the impeachment court would rule on the prosecution’s request once a formal motion or application for a subpoena is filed.
Prosecution reserves right to call Duterte
Kapunan responded that the prosecution was not waiving its right to call Duterte to the witness stand. “We will reserve the right. We are not waiving the right to call her at the appropriate time and to file the appropriate request for subpoena on that matter,” she said.
Article IV of the impeachment complaint alleges that Duterte committed grave threats against the first couple and Romualdez during an online press conference on November 23, 2025. An angry Duterte then said she contracted someone to assassinate the first couple and Romualdez if she herself is killed. The outburst came after the House committee on good government and public accountability, then investigating alleged irregularities in the use of funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), ordered the transfer of detention of her chief of staff Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez from the House of Representatives facility to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City. Lopez was cited in contempt by the panel over alleged “undue interference.”
Hours before the start of the second day of her impeachment trial on Tuesday, July 7, Duterte went to the Senate building for a meeting with her defense counsels. “In this bloodbath and bludgeoning, I will be bloodied but unbowed,” Duterte said in a short statement to the media. Lawyer Michael Poa, the spokesperson of Duterte’s defense team, said the Vice President will attend to her engagements after the meeting. Duterte earlier said she will not personally attend her impeachment trial, maintaining that a respondent has the constitutional right to be represented by counsel. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)
