The Tamesis
June 2, 2026
Manila – Vice President Sara Duterte’s camp prayed Monday that the impeachment case would be dismissed.
Duterte’s defense team, led by attorney Michael Poa, submitted the vice president’s answer to the articles of impeachment.
“We want the articles of impeachment to be dismissed completely, but whatever happens, we are ready to defend,” Boa told the media.
One of the camp’s prayers, according to Boa, is for the case to be dismissed entirely, calling the House Judiciary panel’s proceedings “flawed.”
The House Judiciary Panel held impeachment hearings against Duterte.
In a summary of Duterte’s answers, her defense team wrote: “The House Committee on the Judiciary (COJ) conducted a ‘trial,’ but the trial can only be conducted by the Senate.”
It also accused the Judiciary Committee of conducting “predetermined impeachment.”
“The process was tainted by prejudgment. Even before the hearing concluded, several members of the committee publicly announced that there were sufficient votes to impeach the Vice President and that the evidence against her was allegedly overwhelming,” it continued.
The defense also criticized the evidence presented during the hearing.
“We object to the admissibility of this evidence,” Boa said.
He noted that the complaints cited in the articles of impeachment were not accompanied by evidence.
Instead, Boa said, the “alleged evidence” came to light during the House impeachment hearings.
“During the ‘trial’ before the Judiciary Committee, new evidence was presented that was not contained in the impeachment complaint, and the Vice President was not given the opportunity to confront and answer to that evidence,” the defense began.
It continued: “This is impermissible and violates the rules of fair competition.”
They also responded to each article, but only detailed their objections in documents sent to the media.
“An impeachable official is only responsible for alleged acts or omissions while serving in an impeachable office. In this case, the charges against her even include conduct before she became vice president,” the defense emphasized.
It also insisted that it had not yet determined whether confidential funds had been misused and that there were no details to support that Duterte’s assets were obtained illegally.
The defense then asserted: “There is a standard in the Constitution that provides for impeachment of an official for violations of the Constitution, bribery, embezzlement and corruption, felonies, or betrayal of the public trust. The charges against the Vice President do not meet the threshold.”
