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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
March 25, 2026 | 4:55pm
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte's defense team signaled Wednesday, March 25, it is open to challenging the House impeachment proceedings before the Supreme Court as it insists the justice panel's decision to issue subpoenas and compel witness testimony an unconstitutional exercise of power.
Lawyer Michael Poa, who is spokesperson and himself part of Duterte's team of lawyers, said a Supreme Court petition is "always a possibility," though he declined to say when or whether they would file one.
Yet Poa himself said he would comply with the subpoena the committee issued for his testimony today as former spokesperson of the Department of Education under Duterte's leadership.
"Our job as lawyers is to protect the client and the rights of the client against harassment and all of these kinds of things. And [...] right now, what we're saying is that it's always a possibility," Poa said at a press conference when asked about the possibility they'd challenge the proceedings before the High Court.
The press conference came hours after the House justice committee opened its first impeachment hearing without Duterte or her lawyers. The panel issued subpoenas for her statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth, ordered the NBI to produce records from its investigation of her threats, and approved rules for receiving evidence.
The defense team sent a letter the day before, objecting to the proceedings.
Constitutionally, the House has the exclusive power to initiate impeachment, but only the Senate can try and decide the case.
Issuing subpoenas, examining witnesses, and compelling the production of documents, Duterte's lawyers said, are incidents of trial and the committee has no authority to conduct one.
The Supreme Court has intervened in Duterte's impeachment before. In July 2025, it unanimously struck down the House's first attempt to impeach her, ruling it violated due process and the constitutional one-year bar on successive complaints.
"Why are we not attending? I think it was clearly stated in our letter. It's because we are objecting," Poa said, adding that the committee's actions "go well and beyond what is contemplated within initiation of impeachment proceedings."
Poa's willingness to comply with the panel's summons is not contradictory with the defense's position on the unconstitutionality of the hearings themselves, another member of Duterte's defense, lawyer Sheila Sison, said.
"If the vice president will be asked to present her evidence or to examine or cross-examine the witnesses that the complainants will produced, then that has to come at the time when the matter is already before the impeachment court," Sison added.
'Ready since last year'
Poa said the defense team was prepared for a Senate trial. "We're ready. In fact, if they say the evidence is overwhelming — fine, send it up to the Senate so we can have a proper trial and show that these impeachment complaints have no basis," he said.
Poa declined to disclose Duterte's location but confirmed she was in the Philippines. He said the defense team holds regular briefings with the vice president and that the next steps would be discussed in light of Wednesday's developments.
The House justice committee today ordered the Ombudsman to produce Duterte's SALNs from 2007 to 2025, approved 34 to 1, and the NBI to turn over records from its threat investigation, approved without objection.
The panel also issued summons for four witnesses: detained former aide Ramil Madriaga, who claimed he delivered duffel bags of cash on Duterte's orders; the lawyer who notarized his affidavit; the Commission on Audit team leader who reviewed Duterte's confidential fund expenditures; and Poa.
It also ordered the Philippine Statistics Authority to produce records of individuals listed as beneficiaries of her offices' confidential funds, and the BIR and SEC to produce Duterte's tax and corporate filings.
