VICE President Sara Duterte urged the prosecution panel on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, to stop resorting to “insult, speculations and political theatrics” and prove that she committed an impeachable offense through evidence.
In a statement, Duterte maintained that the impeachment complaint filed by the House of Representatives against her does not include “a shred of evidence.”
“They should not be fishing for evidence during the trial or desperately trying to turn something they wish to be true into a wild story of alleged wrongdoing,” said Duterte.
“A strong case does not need the adornment of theatrics. A senator calling a witness ‘stupid,’ a lawyer calling me the ‘mastermind of a scam,’ or another witness referring to me as a ‘brat,’ does not prove a case, nor does it produce evidence. Insults reveal the need to feign confidence in the face of a weak presentation,” she added.
Duterte issued the remark simultaneously while presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero, during the resumption of the trial, was issuing a ruling that bars senator-judges and counsels of both the prosecution and the defense, as well as the accused herself from discussing the merits of the case in public.
Due to the prospectivity of the ruling, Escudero merely issued a reminder for the parties to comply with the ruling.
“Given that it was done while the ruling was being issued, prospectivity would still apply. However, the presiding officer would like to remind through the lead counsel for the respondent her client to kindly observe the ruling of the presiding officer, as well as the rules of the impeachment court, specifically Article or Rule 18 on the subject matter in regard to making comments on the merits of the case,” said Escudero.
“Because henceforth, again, given the prospectivity of the ruling, the necessary actions will be taken against her, not only by the court, but also given that she's a lawyer, via what the presiding officer earlier mentioned in relation to CIPRA and in relation to the Office of the Bar Confident,” he added. (TPM/VoxPop Philippines)