The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte said it will first assess the prosecution’s direct examination of Atty. Zuleika Lopez before deciding whether to cross-examine her during the impeachment trial.

Defense spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa said the decision will depend on whether the prosecution’s presentation raises issues that need clarification from Lopez.

“Kung kinakailangan, depende, and I don't want to be vague about this, masiparado ko na sinasabi kung kinakailangan, pero what that means is, syempre, titignan muna namin sa naging presentasyon ng prosecution if there are things that we should clarify,” Poa said.

He explained that the defense may choose not to conduct cross-examination if they believe the prosecution failed to establish strong points during the direct examination.

“Kung sa tingin namin, wala namang masyadong napatunayan or nothing powerful was done in the direct examination, that sometimes the other parties would just leave,” he added.

Poa also clarified that Lopez is currently considered a regular witness and cannot automatically be treated as a hostile witness. He said the prosecution must first present evidence and seek the approval of the impeachment court before Lopez can be classified as hostile.

“Yung hostile witness po, under our rules, hindi po kasi automatic yan. The prosecution will have to work on their presentation. They will have to have the witness qualify as a hostile witness, and then they will ask now the court to qualify her as a hostile witness,” Poa said.

Lopez, who previously served as Vice President Duterte’s chief of staff, is expected to testify as part of the House prosecution’s presentation in the impeachment proceedings.