Ex-SP Koko Pimentel warns vs presenting hostile witnesses in Sara Duterte impeachment trial

Former Senate president Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III cautioned against presenting hostile witnesses in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, as the House prosecution panel lines up her longtime aide, Zuleika Lopez, as its third witness on Tuesday.

On the fifth day of Duterte’s trial on Tuesday, Lopez arrived at the Senate past 1 p.m.

“Alam mo yung pagprepresent ng hostile witnesses pinag-iingatan yan kasi sometimes wala ka ring makukuha,” Pimentel said in an interview with GMA News’ Mariz Umali.

(Presenting hostile witnesses is something you have to be very careful with because sometimes, you get absolutely nothing out of them.)

“Lalo na rito, ano ba gusto nilang ipakita? Na andon siya sa kwarto, o, so? Ano ngayon ‘yun?” he added.

(Especially in this case—what exactly do they want to show? That she was in the room? Okay, so?)

Lopez is a witness to the alleged grave threats and assassination plot made by Duterte against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and his family during an online press conference in November 2024.

This video was presented in the early days of the trial. Lopez was seen sitting in the same room with the Vice President.

Pimentel argued that Lopez, as a hostile witness, could simply deny that she did not hear anything Duterte said.

“Sasabihin mo, ‘E, narinig mo lahat.’ Sasabihin niya ‘Hindi eh, hindi ko narinig,’” Pimentel demonstrated.

(They might say, ‘Well, you heard everything.’ And she will just reply, ‘No, actually, I didn’t hear it.)

“Ako mismo gusto ko makita—kung itutuloy nila, pero pwede pa naman nilang hindi ituloy ‘yan actually,” he added.

(Personally, I want to see how it plays out if they push through with it—though they can actually still choose not to.)

At this point of the trial, the former lawmaker said that he cannot yet say what the prosecution panel can establish with Lopez, adding that he looks forward to how the trial will unfold.

However, when asked if Lopez can break the prosecution’s case, Pimentel said: “Parang lumalabas tuloy na parang nasupalpal, sa basketball ba, nasupalpal sila rito sa attempt na to.”

(Right now, it looks like they got blocked—like in basketball—in this specific attempt.)

Moving forward

As the Vice President’s impeachment moves forward, Pimentel advised against making the proceedings too technical.

“Hindi dapat teknikal, hindi dapat ang impeachment ay parang nasa korte lang tayo. Dapat ito ay medyo mas lenient pagdating sa technical rules,” Pimentel said.

(Impeachment shouldn't be strictly technical; it shouldn't feel like we're just in a regular court of law. It should be a bit more lenient when it comes to technical rules.)

However, during the proceedings, Pimentel said that public policy must always be observed.

“Kunwari pipilitin mong sagutin, pipilitin mong maging testigo yung impeached official laban sa sarili niya. Ay, hindi pwede. Pipilitin mo na yung asawa magte-testify laban sa kaniyang asawa, hindi rin pupwede,” Pimentel explained.

(For example, you can't force the impeached official to answer and testify against herself. Or forcing her spouse to testify against his own partner—that's not allowed either.)

In the coming weeks, Pimentel said he expects the impeachment trial to speed up as the Senate court, prosecution, and defense panel adapts to the process. He anticipates that three to four witnesses could be presented this week if the pace quickens. —RF, GMA News