MindaNews / 7 July 2026 — The prosecution on Tuesday told the Senate sitting as an impeachment court that they want Vice President Sara Duterte to appear as a hostile witness for the hearing on Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment.

Article IV accuses Duterte of “Assassination Plot, Grave Threats and Inciting to Sedition Against the President.”

The accusation stemmed from a video on Facebook where the Vice President said that should anything happen to her, she had contracted an assassin to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the President’s cousin.

The prosecution has opted to tackle first Article IV in the impeachment trial of the Vice President that opened Monday, July 6.

Presiding Senator-Judge Chiz Escudero cited that the rules on impeachment don’t require the presence of the respondent during hearings, but added that the court will make a ruling once a request is made.

Senator-Judge Alan Peter Cayetano said the respondent cannot be forced to take the witness stand. But if the prosecution would insist, he said, both parties should submit memoranda to the court.

Lawyer Lorna Kapunan, counsel to the prosecutors, said they are not waiving their right to file a motion to compel Duterte’s presence.

Earlier, Cayetano reiterated his proposal on Monday to ask the Sandiganbayan to allow detained Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta to attend the trial.

Estrada and Marcoleta are being detained for the non-bailable case of plunder.

The impeachment court is yet to act on Cayetano’s proposal. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno / MindaNews)