MANILA — The House prosecution panel said it is confident it has established its impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte over her alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., following the presentation of three witnesses before the Senate impeachment court.

Lead prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro said the panel had completed presenting evidence on the impeachment article involving Duterte’s alleged threats and is now preparing to proceed with the next article concerning the alleged misuse of confidential funds.

“Of course, we feel happy because finally we are able to accomplish at least one article. Three more to go,” Luistro said during a press briefing.

“Malayo na, pero malayo pa. But nevertheless, we are already preparing for the succeeding articles. Ang susunod natin, of course, is confidential fund. And the prosecution is always ready for the upcoming trial.”

Luistro said the prosecution remains optimistic after presenting what she described as three “powerful witnesses” whose testimonies she said were complete and compelling.

“We are positive because in this article, naging napakaganda at kumpleto ng testimonya ng ating mga testigo. We had only three witnesses, and I must say that all of them are powerful witnesses,” said Luistro, who also chairs the House Committee on Justice.

The prosecution’s witnesses were National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Cybercrime Division Senior Agent John Mark Calilung, NBI Bangsamoro Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc, and NBI Director Melvin Matibag, whose testimony concluded the panel’s presentation on the impeachment article.

Luistro described Matibag’s testimony as “very, very important” to the prosecution’s case but declined to elaborate on its contents while the impeachment trial is ongoing.

Deputy Speaker and Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin said Matibag affirmed before the Senate impeachment court Duterte’s public statements that she had spoken to someone to kill President Marcos, which the prosecution maintains constitutes betrayal of public trust.

According to Garin, Matibag also testified that the alleged threat had national security implications, discussed what the prosecution described as a pattern of violent behavior by Duterte, and disclosed in response to questions from senator-judges that the NBI continues to investigate around 20 persons of interest, including members of the Vice President’s security detail.

Garin said the prosecution decided not to conduct a redirect examination after concluding that Matibag had already sufficiently established its evidence.

“Pinili ng prosecution na hindi na magsagawa pa ng redirect examination dahil naniniwala silang hindi na ito kailangan, dahil naipakita na ni Director Matibag na solid at naipakita niya ang ebidensya doon sa mga ipinahayag ng ating prosecution,” Garin said.

Matibag served as the prosecution’s third and final witness on the impeachment article arising from Duterte’s Nov. 23, 2024 public statements, in which she said she had instructed someone to kill President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez if she herself were killed.

Before Matibag testified, Calilung authenticated the recording of Duterte’s statements, while Lotoc discussed the NBI investigation that led to the filing of criminal complaints against the Vice President.

With the presentation of evidence on the alleged threat completed, the House prosecution is expected to begin presenting its case on the impeachment article accusing Duterte of misusing P612.5 million in confidential funds.