The House prosecution panel is preparing to move to the impeachment article on Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds after nearly completing its presentation of evidence on the charge involving her alleged threats against the country’s top officials.
Lead prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro said the prosecution considers its case under Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment substantially complete, with only the testimony of National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag remaining.
The prosecution has withdrawn six additional witnesses, on top of former Office of the Vice President chief of staff Atty. Zuleika Lopez and House Legislative Security Bureau Executive Director Capt. Belinda Bello.
Matibag is scheduled to testify on Tuesday, July 21, as the prosecution’s final witness on Article IV, which accuses Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, high crimes and betrayal of public trust over her Nov. 23, 2024, remarks that she had instructed someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and then-House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez if she herself were killed.
Luistro said Matibag’s testimony would complete the prosecution’s presentation on the alleged threat case.
“After the conclusion of the testimony of the NBI director, it is really our position that we have established already completely thoroughly the case of threat, destabilization, and having contracted an assassin as constituting impeachable offenses under the ground of culpable violation of the Constitution, high crime, and betrayal of public trust,” she said.
The House Committee on Justice chairperson said there was no reason to prolong the proceedings once the prosecution had established its case.
“We should not waste the time of the impeachment court. We have to proceed immediately to the next Article in accordance with the order which we submitted to the impeachment court. And the next is confidential funds,” Luistro said.
Following Matibag’s testimony, the prosecution is expected to begin presenting evidence under Article I of the Articles of Impeachment.
Article I accuses Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust over the alleged misuse, misappropriation, and irregular disbursement of confidential funds at the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education.
The House alleges that Duterte’s offices spent ₱612.5 million in confidential funds, including ₱125 million disbursed by the Office of the Vice President in just 11 days in December 2022 through allegedly irregular and undocumented transactions, including acknowledgment receipts bearing fictitious names.
Luistro expressed confidence in the prosecution’s evidence supporting the confidential funds charge.
“We are equally confident. We have strong evidence, and that is why we feel ready to proceed to the presentation of evidence in support of the misuse, misappropriation, and irregular disbursement of confidential funds of both the OVP and the DepEd,” she said.
The Senate impeachment court has already granted the prosecution’s request to subpoena its first three witnesses for the confidential funds case.
The witnesses are Marivic Pareja of the House of Representatives Legislative Archives Museum Management Service, former Land Bank Shaw Boulevard branch manager Violeta Constantino, and former Land Bank DepEd branch manager Nenita Camposano.
The impeachment court ordered the three witnesses to appear before the Senate and produce documents relevant to the confidential funds case.