Romer Butuyan 
NAIS ng House prosecution panel na maipatawag ng Senate impeachment court ang mismong inuusig na si President Sara Z. Duterte bilang isang hostile witness sa pagdinig ng Article 4 ng Articles of Impeachment, o ang ginawang pagbabanta ng huli kina President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos at former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.
“One of the key witnesses, hostile, would be the Vice President,” ang mariing pahayag ni
Atty. Lorna Kapunan, counsel for the House prosecutors sa pangalawang araw ng paglilitis.
“We are already respectfully informing this Honorable Court that we will manifest that we will have a written request for her presence in connection with this article on grave threats,” dagdag niya.
Ginawa ni Kapunan ang pahayag makaraang sumulpot ang akusado sa besinidad ng Senado, hindi para dumalo sa impeachment trial, sa halip ay magbitaw ng one-sentence statement sa mga taga-media.
Kaya naman sa trial proper, tinanong ni Kapunan kung nais ba ni Duterte na personal na humarap sa Senate impeachment trial dahil ang mga magiging testimonya o sagot nito ay mahalaga sa pagpipirisinta ng prosekusyon sa mga testigo nito.
Tumanggi naman si Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, presiding officer ng Senate impeachment court, na magbigay ng anumang kapasyahan sa manipestasyon ng prosekusyon.
“The impeachment rules do not mandate nor require the respondent to attend any hearing or trial of the impeachment court,” ani Escudero.
“Whether she was in the building earlier or arrived after, it is totally up to the respondent because from the point of view of the court, she is represented in this court through her counsel already,” dagdag niya.
“Should the counsel for the prosecutors desire to call the respondent herself, the court will act on that motion and request once it is made and or filed, and need not make a ruling at this point in time,” sabi rin ni Escudero.
“With that, we will reserve the right. We are not waiving the right to call her at the appropriate time and to file the appropriate request for subpoena duces tecum and subpoena testificandum,” tugon naman ni Kapunan.
