Defense counsel and spokesman Michael Wesley Poa says that 'they did not expect' the move of the prosecution to drop Vice President Sara Duterte's Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez and House security official Belinda Bello as witnessess in the fourth article of impeachment complete against Duterte. In a press conference on July 14, 2026, Poa also said that they would evaluate to determine if they would call Lopez to the stand.