MANILA – The House prosecution panel will present National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag as its final witness on Article IV of the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte after dropping several witnesses whose testimonies were deemed unnecessary.

During Wednesday’s proceedings before the Senate impeachment court, House lead prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville “Jinky” Luistro said Matibag would conclude the prosecution’s presentation on the charge involving Duterte’s alleged grave threats before the panel moves on to Article I, which concerns the alleged misuse of confidential funds.

“This withdrawal, Your Honor, renders Attorney Melvin Matibag, the NBI director, as our last witness for threat, who will be testifying this coming Tuesday, Your Honor,” Luistro said.

The prosecution had earlier withdrawn Vice President Duterte’s former chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, and House Legislative Security Bureau Executive Director Capt. Belinda Bello after the testimony of NBI Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc, saying their testimonies had become redundant.

Luistro also informed the impeachment court that the panel would no longer call a representative from the Philippine National Police Firearms and Explosives Office, journalists Mikhail Flores and Bonz Magsambol, Sheriff Abe Andres, a relative of one of the alleged threat victims, and a psychiatrist.

“The witness intended to testify that the respondent owns firearms, including high-powered ones, which demonstrate the capacity and capability to execute a threat. On the other hand, Your Honor, it has already been shown that the government took the threat seriously, and, as a matter of fact, it prompted the full-scale investigation, including the recommendation to file a criminal complaint,” Luistro said in explaining the withdrawal of the proposed police witness.

She also said the testimonies of the two journalists were no longer needed because NBI Agent John Mark Calilung had already authenticated the Nov. 23, 2024 video recordings, and the defense later acknowledged that the videos were genuine.

“Agent Calilung already established that the video is authentic, plus considering, Your Honor, the defense’s subsequent admission that the same are authentic videos, Your Honor,” Luistro said.

Article IV of the impeachment complaint accuses Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust over her recorded statements concerning President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez, which led to an NBI investigation and a recommendation to file criminal complaints for grave threats and inciting to sedition.

After concluding its presentation on Article IV, the prosecution said it would begin presenting evidence on Article I involving Duterte’s confidential funds on July 22.

“We would like to beg the kind indulgence of the Honorable Impeachment Court to note our next witnesses. This will be in support of Article I, confidential funds, and if we will be presenting Attorney Melvin Matibag on Tuesday, then this means that the first witness for confidential funds will be presented on July 22, that is Wednesday,” Luistro said.

“We are requesting that we be allowed to request the issuance of subpoenas for our first three witnesses for confidential funds, including Marivic Pareja of the Legislative Archives and Museum Management Service of the House of Representatives, and two LandBank employees, Violeta Constantino, former branch manager of the LandBank Shaw Boulevard branch, and Nenita Camposano, former branch manager of the LandBank DepEd (Department of Education) branch.”