Atty. Zuleika Lopez, the chief of staff of Vice President Sara Duterte, arrived at the Senate today, July 9. 

This comes following the planned summons of the Senate Impeachment Court for her to give testimony in the pending case against the Vice President.

At the end of the first week of VP Duterte's impeachment trial, it was mentioned that Atty. Zuleika Lopez is among those who will be called to appear in the coming hearings.

Atty. Lopez is considered a hostile witness by the prosecution on Article 4, or the controversial assassination plot, grave threats, and inciting to sedition case.

Senate Impeachment Court spokesperson Atty. Regie Tongol said the presiding officer has granted the request for the issuance of a subpoena ad testificandum against Lopez.

"The request of issuance of subpoena ad testificandum of Atty. Zuleika Lopez, the presiding officer granted the same and will be issued today," Tongol said.

The alleged threat by the Vice President reportedly took place while Lopez was detained at the House of Representatives in November 2024, after she was cited for contempt during a hearing of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability concerning the alleged misuse of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

Meanwhile, on the matter of presenting witnesses, Tongol said the court has left it to the prosecution's discretion how they will proceed with presenting their witnesses and evidence.

This comes after the House Prosecution Panel postponed, yesterday, the presentation of their second witness, Atty. Jeremy Lotoc, regional director of the National Bureau of Investigation.

Asked about the deferral, Tongol explained that the decision on when to present witnesses ultimately rests with the prosecution, though the court still evaluates whether such deferrals are justified. 

"Nasa discretion po nila kung paano nila i-pipresinta ang ebidensya. Kaya sila rin po bahala mag-manage ng mga witnesses nila kailan nila iniisip na magandang i-presinta yung witness na yun. Baka meron silang timing, baka may strategy po sila. We cannot really comment on ano po yun. Hindi naman po nasayang yung oras ng korte kasi nga sabi ko nga po sa inyo, nangangapa pa po tayong lahat. Tinitingnan rin ng korte kung ito ba ay rasonable o hindi rasonable yung pagka-defer."

(It's within their discretion how they will present the evidence. So it's also up to them to manage their witnesses on when they think it's good to present that witness. Maybe they have their timing, maybe they have a strategy. We cannot really comment on that. The court's time was not wasted because, as I've said, we are all still feeling our way through this. The court is also looking at whether this deferral is reasonable or not.)

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