The Tamesis
March 26, 2026
Manila – Vice President Sara Duterte is ready to answer the impeachment complaint against her in an “appropriate forum,” according to her legal team.
Previously, Duterte was absent from the House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment hearing on Wednesday, March 25.
“The vice president is ready to respond and the defense team is ready to defend the vice president in the appropriate forum,” said Atty. Duterte’s legal counsel Michael Boa told a news conference immediately after the House committee suspended the proceedings.
READ: Sara Duterte impeachment: House issues subpoena for Michael Boa
Meanwhile, Sheila Sison, another member of Atty Duterte’s impeachment legal team, said at a press conference that the House of Representatives has no authority to conduct a “trial,” calling its proceedings “unconstitutional.”
She emphasized that only the Senate can conduct an impeachment trial.
“The defendant is prepared to confront the charges against her, but to do so in an appropriate forum, before a body that has the constitutional authority to conduct a trial. If you look at the Constitution, the only body that can conduct a trial in an impeachment case is the Senate,” Sison said.
“Because obviously, how can you participate in a proceeding where you are questioning the authority of the institution that is conducting the proceedings?” she pointed out.
The lawyer also clarified that Duterte “is not waiving any right to question, to object, or any constitutional right.”
Before the press conference, Duterte’s camp submitted a letter to committee chairman and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, saying the panel exceeded its constitutional limits by calling the proceedings of the preliminary investigation a “mini-trial.”
The vice president called the hearing another “fishing expedition” in an earlier statement.
Luistro, meanwhile, said Wednesday’s committee hearing was not a “trial,” but merely a “clarification hearing to establish probable cause that will allow us to proceed with a trial in the Senate.”
The impeachment charges against Duterte involve betrayal of public trust, bribery, graft and corruption, and misuse of P612 million in confidential funds. /gentlemen
