VP Sara says lawyers 'more than confident' in winning impeachment trial

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April 22, 2025 | 6:28pm

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte said on Tuesday, April 22, that her lawyers are "more than confident" that they will prevail against the impeachment case filed against her. 

Duterte also told reporters at a chance interview in Cebu that she had met with her legal team upon returning from her stay in The Hague, Netherlands, where her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, is detained on International Criminal Court charges.

"Hindi ko naman masabi kung ano 'yung preparations ng mga abogado sa impeachment. Pero nung pag-uwi ko galing The Hague ay nag-meeting kami dahil isa din 'yun sa mga inaasikaso ko," Duterte said. 

(I can't really say what the lawyers' preparations are for the impeachment. But when I got back from The Hague, we had a meeting because that's also one of the things I'm handling.)

"At sinabi nila that they are more than confident in winning the impeachment trial — impeachment case. So 'yan lang 'yung masasabi ko," she added.

(And they said that they are more than confident in winning the impeachment trial — impeachment case. So that's all I can say.)

The House of Representatives voted to impeach Duterte on February 5, sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial.

Senate President Chiz Escudero has scheduled the trial to begin after the May 2025 elections. According to the timeline he proposed in February, the actual impeachment trial is set to start on July 30, after pre-trial proceedings and the swearing-in of newly elected senators who will also serve as judges in the case. 

Public opinion on the impeachment remains divided, according to a February survey by WR Numero. The poll found that 46.7% of Filipinos oppose the impeachment, while 33.3% support it, with approximately 20% still undecided.

According to the survey, Mindanao, Duterte's bulwark, shows the strongest opposition to the impeachment at 65.6%, compared to just 16.6% in favor.

The upcoming impeachment trial for the vice president has loomed over senatorial bets of the PDP-Laban slate — of which her father is chairperson — as they have repeatedly called on their supporters to vote for them to prevent Duterte's conviction.

RELATED:  The allegations against VP Sara Duterte in impeachment proceedings | Senate outlines schedule of VP Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial

Recap: What's VP Sara Duterte accused of?

The impeachment charges against Duterte encompass seven allegations, with the most grave being an alleged plot to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez. This accusation stems from Duterte's statements during a late-night press conference last year when she claimed to have arranged for someone to kill the president, the First Lady, and the House speaker should she herself be assassinated.

The articles also charge the vice president with improperly using confidential funds, totaling at least P254.898 million in alleged "ghost expenses." Additionally, Duterte is accused of corrupting former high-ranking Department of Education officials by allegedly distributing cash envelopes containing tens of thousands of pesos.

The impeachment articles also resurrect longstanding claims regarding her connection to extrajudicial killings through the so-called Davao Death Squad during her tenure as Davao City mayor. The complaint further alleges that Duterte accumulated "hidden wealth" that was reportedly unexplained in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth filed from 2013 to 2016.

The sixth and seventh articles accuse Duterte of inciting sedition and rebellion, as well as "gross faithlessness against trust and tyrannical abuse of power."