Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Atty. Zuleika Lopez, the chief of staff of Vice President Sara Duterte, attends the resumption of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability inquiry on Nov. 20, 2024 into the alleged misuse of public funds by the OVP and the DepEd under Duterte. Vivienne Gulla, ABS-CBN News/File

Article (news)

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17835126485181783512647209.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Atty. Zuleika Lopez, the chief of staff of Vice President Sara Duterte, attends the resumption of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability inquiry on Nov. 20, 2024 into the alleged misuse of public funds by the OVP and the DepEd under Duterte. Vivienne Gulla, ABS-CBN News/File MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief of staff and decades-long friend Zuleika Lopez, and two other government officials are scheduled to appear as witnesses in the vice president&#x27;s impeachment trial next week, the Senate impeachment court confirmed on Wednesday.</div>After inquiring with prosecutors, the court announced that the following will be called to the witness stand: - Jeremy Lotoc, senior agent, NBI on July 13- Atty. Zuleika Lopez, chief of staff, Office of the Vice President on July 14- Belinda Bello, Legislative Security Bureau executive director, House of Representatives on July 15The three will answer questions about Duterte’s alleged grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.Before the third day of the impeachment trial ended, Senator-Judge Bam Aquino appealed to both the prosecution and the defense to cut off unnecessary quips to hasten proceedings next week after the chamber spent about nine hours on just one witness this week.He acknowledged that lawyers have their own startegies and litigation styles, but called for “proceedings where we can go stright to the point para makapag-desisyon din tayo ng maayos.”He clarified that “this is a plea... not an order to both parties.”Examination and cross-examination saw objections from the parties and frequent reference to attachments and annexes, which lawyers said is normal in court proceedings.Presiding officer Francis Escudero likened impeachment proceedings to diesel that tends to take time before heating up, saying that the first few days are usually full of questions on technicalities as both sides try to gauge their opposing counsels.This week’s proceedings ended with the Duterte’s counsels claiming that there was no proof to establish that the Vice President contracted assassins to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “The proseuction has no other competent evidence to prove that VP Sara has contracted an assassin,” defense counsel Mark Vinluan said.“Trying to prove this stretched narrative using a hodge podge of material is a waste of this honorable’s time and the Filipino people’s money,” he said.Vinluan added that the crime of inciting to sedition is only punishable by up to 6 years in prison, while grave threat is not part of the impeachable offenses cited under the Constitution.“When VP Sara uttered those words, she was not responding as Sara Duterte as the vice president, but Sara Duterte the wife, mother, daughter and sister, who only sought to protect her own and her family members’ lives,” he said. “The truth of the matter is this: she and her family were threatened, and while her response was unconventional, it was justified.”The prosecution is expected to further its case next week with the presentation of an investigator who worked on establishing the identity of Duterte’s supposed hired assassin.

Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief of staff and decades-long friend Zuleika Lopez, and two other government officials are scheduled to appear as witnesses in the second-in-command’s impeachment trial next week, the Senate impeachment court confirmed on Wednesday.

Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief of staff and decades-long friend Zuleika Lopez, and two other government officials are scheduled to appear as witnesses in the second-in-command’s impeachment trial next week, the Senate impeachment court confirmed on Wednesday.

Impeachment court to summon Sara Duterte’s chief of staff Zuleika Lopez to trial next week

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Impeachment court to summon Sara Duterte’s chief of staff Zuleika Lopez to trial next week

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 08, 2026 08:20 PM PHT

Read More:

Sara Duterte

Sara Duterte impeachment trial

Zuleika Lopez

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