THE House prosecution is eyeing to present Vice President Sara Duterte as a witness in her own impeachment trial.
This was revealed by private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan during the 23rd day of Duterte’s impeachment trial Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
“All of these pawns and castles and horses and bishops point to only one person, and that accountable person is the Vice President. In lieu of presenting 15 other witnesses, we will be presenting the Vice President herself for Article 1 of the Articles of Impeachment [on confidential funds],” Kapunan said.
“In this game of chess, there are pawns, bishops, castles, and horses. And the most important, more important than the king, and I speak this because not of my gender, but the queen is more important than the king because the queen can move in many directions. And we have seen that. We have seen that in the evidence presented,” she added.
Kapunan said they will ask the Senate impeachment court for the issuance of a subpoena for Duterte at a proper time in the future.
The veteran lawyer issued the manifestation as they informed the impeachment court that they are forgoing the presentation of the remaining 15 witnesses for Article 1 of the impeachment case, which involves the alleged misuse of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President as well as the Department of Education during the respondent’s time as the agency’s secretary.
Out of the 27 witnesses of the prosecution in relation to Article 1, 12 were presented, including officials and personnel of the OVP, military officials, state auditors, and a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) officer, among others.
Kapunan said the testimonies of the witnesses presented already elicited a “very clear” pattern.
In response to Kapunan’s manifestation, defense team lead Shiela Sison reiterated that Duterte cannot be compelled to testify against herself, citing Section 17, Article 3 of the Constitution, which states that “no person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.”
“This right is absolute, and this is not only a simple right or a statutory right. This is a fundamental right. This is a right emanating from the Constitution itself and one that emanates from the guarantees under Article 3 of our 1987 Constitution,” she said.
Sison said they will further issue a comment on the matter once the prosecution files a motion seeking to issue a subpoena to Duterte.
Prosecution lead counsel Congressman Gerville Luistro said Kapunan’s manifestation is still premature, noting that they have not yet formalized such a motion.
“As a matter of fact, we believe that this is a matter that needs to be consulted with the respondent herself. And it should be the respondent who should decide on whether or not she will be complying with the subpoena,” she said.
Luistro, however, said that the position of the prosecution about calling Duterte is in line with its mandate for transparency and accountability.
“It is important that the impeachment court, including the viewing public, witness how the Respondent Vice President answered to all these allegations because this is the spirit behind the provision of the Constitution on transparency and accountability, Your Honor. That is, notwithstanding the Constitutional provision about being on the right against self-incrimination, Your Honor,” she said.
“And third, Your Honor, the defense invoked the Constitutional rights of the Respondent. We wish to invoke as well that even the Filipino people whom we represent are entitled to these constitutional rights. The Filipino people here have the right to hear the answer of the respondent Vice President to all these four allegations under the Articles of Impeachment,” she added.
Meanwhile, the House prosecution is seeking Duterte’s admission of the authenticity and ownership of bank accounts which it will present as evidence in Article 2 of the Articles of Impeachment, which involves allegations of unexplained wealth and false Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs).
“Simple lamang po ang hinihiling ng prosecution. Hinihiling namin sa respondent na kumpirmahin, una, kung genuine o tunay ang mga bank records na isinumite ng mga bangko alinsunod sa subpoena duces tecum na inisyu ng impeachment court. At ikalawa, kung ang mga bank accounts na tinutukoy sa mga records na iyon ay pag-aari ni Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, bilang indibidwal o kasama ang kanyang asawa, ama, kapatid, o anak,” Prosecutor Chel Diokno of Akbayan party-list said.
“We are not asking respondents to admit something she does not know or something that is not true. If a particular matter is genuinely disputed, she may specifically deny it. If she cannot truthfully admit or deny it, she may state under oath the reasons why. But where a party has immediate access to records, documents, or information by which the truth of a matter can readily be confirmed without undue difficulty, an unjustified refusal to admit readily verifiable facts or documents would defeat the very purpose of a Request for Admission—to narrow the issues and avoid unnecessary proof,” he added.
The defense was given 15 days to comment on the matter. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)