MANILA — The House prosecution panel said the burden has shifted to Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense after it completed presenting what it described as competent and credible evidence on the impeachment article accusing her of making grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.

The prosecution formally rested its case on the impeachment article, saying it is now up to the defense to rebut the evidence before the Senate impeachment court.

“Nag-shift na ngayon [ang burden] kasi noong una nung nagpresenta ang prosekusyon ay iprinisenta namin, inilatag natin ang mga ebidensya na sa aming paniwala ay dapat madinig, makita ng ating mga kababayan,” former Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, adviser and spokesperson for the House prosecution, said during a press briefing.

“Eh ngayon naman ‘yung burden of evidence shifts to the defense panel. Dapat sila rin ang sumagot, tumugon at i-counter or i-rebut ‘yung evidensyang ipinakita at inilatag ng prosekusyon,” he added.

House prosecution spokesperson and counsel Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. said the panel had already presented sufficient evidence to support the grave threats allegation.

“The prosecution has presented competent and credible evidence proving that the Vice President made statements threatening the life of the President,” Tolosa said.

According to Tolosa, the prosecution presented authenticated recordings of Duterte’s Nov. 23, 2024 public statements, the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) forensic examination of the recordings, and the bureau’s official investigation into the alleged threats.

He said NBI witnesses also explained before the Senate impeachment court why investigators concluded there was prima facie evidence with a reasonable certainty of conviction and why the alleged threats were considered a continuing national security concern.

Tolosa added that NBI Director Melvin Matibag testified that the bureau created a special task force to investigate the case, that the investigation remains ongoing, and that authorities have already identified persons of interest.

He said the defense can no longer rely solely on denials after the prosecution concluded its presentation of evidence.

“Hindi na ho sapat ang simpleng denial. Kailangan na nilang sagutin ang authenticated recordings, ang forensic findings, ang official investigation, at ang national security assessment na nasa record na,” Tolosa said.

He added that the prosecution has already presented all the evidence it intends to offer on the grave threats article and now expects the defense to respond with its own evidence.

The House prosecution concluded its presentation on the impeachment article on Wednesday after the testimony of Matibag, its third and final witness.

Before Matibag took the stand, the prosecution presented NBI Senior Agent John Mark Calilung, who authenticated recordings of Duterte’s Nov. 23, 2024 public statements, and NBI Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc, who testified on the investigation that resulted in the recommendation to file criminal charges against the Vice President.

The impeachment article stems from Duterte’s Nov. 23, 2024 remarks in which she said she had instructed someone to kill President Marcos, the First Lady, and Romualdez should an alleged plot against her succeed.

The prosecution argues that the statements constitute grave threats and demonstrate unfitness for public office, while the defense maintains that the remarks were merely conditional statements and did not constitute criminal threats.