ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider You're welcome! Prosecution's move ultimately 'beneficial' to VP Sara

You're welcome! Prosecution's move ultimately 'beneficial' to VP Sara

Published Jul 14, 2026 11:47 pm

At A Glance

  • The House prosecution panel decides to drop OVP Chief-of-staff Zuleika Lopez and Capt. Belinda Bello from its witness list for Article IV, citing redundancy and corroborative testimony.
  • Prosecutor Lorna Kapunan says that the move was meant to save time and align with Senator Panfilo Lacson's reminder that the respondent is entitled to a speedy trial.
  • From its original 11 witnesses for Article IV, the panel reduced the list to nine, having already presented two NBI witnesses.
Prosecutor Lorna Kapunan (left); Vice President Sara Duterte (Senate PRIB, House PPAB)
Prosecutor Lorna Kapunan (left); Vice President Sara Duterte (Senate PRIB, House PPAB)


The House prosecution panel's decision on Tuesday, July 14 to trim down its list of witnesses for Article IV in the articles of impeachment is being seen as a positive development for impeachment trial respondent, Vice President Sara Duterte.
This can be gleaned from the remarks of private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan during the tail end of Tuesday's Senate impeachment trial, even as the veteran litigator made a reference to an earlier statement from Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson.
In a manifestation before the senator-judges, Kapunan said the prosecution was dropping Office of the Vice President (OVP) Chief-of-staff Zuleika Lopez and Capt. Belinda Bello of the House of Representatives’ Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) from its list of witnesses for article alleging grave threats and inciting to sedition on the part of Duterte.
Basically, Kapunan said the panel wanted to save the court the time and trouble from having to go through redundant testimonies.
"Going back to why we are making this manifestation, we have said and I have said on behalf of the public prosecutors, your honors, that we will no longer be presenting attorney [Zuleika] Lopez. And your honors, in addition, because the testimony of Captain Belinda Bello is merely corroborative," she said.
"She [Bello] would have been presented only to corroborate the fact that there was a transfer order made in the detention center and that transfer order had been the subject of the video or press conference of Nov. 23, 2024. And so, your honors, we are also no longer going to call as a witness Captain Belinda Bello," she explained.
Kapunan continued: "With that, your honor, I think the reminder of Senator Lacson that the accused, that the respondent is entitled to a speedy trial."
"The prosecutors would want this to be a reminder to all. We are doing our part. We have reduced trial dates by lessening our presentation on this article by two witnesses, your honor," the lawyer further told the impeachment court.
Lacson previously said in radio interview over the weekend that the court owed it to the respondent to speed up the process in what had been billed as a protracted trial.
“The Vice President is entitled to a speedy trial, just like any respondent in an ordinary court trial. So we must devise ways to speed it up,” Lacson said.
“Speeding up the trial does not mean compromising the presentation of evidence. It means maximizing the limited time available to us,” added the multi-term senator.
From its original list of 11 witnesses for Article IV, the prosecution has effectively reduced it to nine. It has already completed the presentation of two witnesses in the five days of trial carried out so far.
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian earlier estimated that the Vice President’s trial could last for seven to eight months, if all four articles of impeachment are to be presented.

Related Tags

Lorna Kapunan Sara Duterte Impeachment impeachment trial witness Panfilo \"Ping\" Lacson Zuleika Lopez Sherwin Gatchalian
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ static_articles_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.