The House prosecution panel has formally requested the Senate impeachment court to allow the presentation of Office of the Vice President (OVP) chief of staff Zuleika Lopez and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag as witnesses in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.The prosecution panel seeks subpoenas ad testificandum to compel Lopez and Matibag to testify before the impeachment court on July 13-15, 2026.

Their testimonies are deemed critical to establish allegations under Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment, which centers on Duterte's alleged grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez.Duterte's controversial remarks during a November 2024 press conference, where Lopez was detained for contempt, are central to the case.The NBI had requested Facebook Meta to preserve the video of the virtual media conference following the alleged threats.The defense argues Duterte was exercising her freedom of expression.The impeachment trial, which began on July 6, has a 92-day timeline with 62 days allocated for the prosecution and 30 for the defense.The case accuses Duterte of constitutional violations, graft, betrayal of public trust, bribery, and other high crimes.