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The Senate of the Philippines, led by Senate President Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 convened as an impeachment court to try the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte. Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate Social Media Unit 



Article (news)

Pia Gutierrez

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — Malacañang on Tuesday reminded senator-judges to refrain from displaying their biases on the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. </p><p>Palace Press Claire Castro was reacting to the statement of Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, who called the impeachment trial a &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/7/zubiri-claims-sara-duterte-impeachment-trial-a-witch-hunt-1706">witch hunt</a>&quot; aimed at removing her from the 2028 presidential race.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/7/zubiri-claims-sara-duterte-impeachment-trial-a-witch-hunt-1706">Zubiri claims Sara Duterte impeachment trial a &#x27;witch hunt&#x27;</a></div><p>“Unang-una, wala po tayong kinalaman sa anumang mangyayari sa impeachment trial pero bilang isang senator-judge mas maganda po tama po iyong dating sinabi ni Senator Chiz Escudero na umiwas sa ganitong mga klaseng mga pananaw dahil minsan nakikita kung saan sila kumikiling,” Castro said.</p><p>“Unang-una, witch hunt ang sinasabi nila tungkol sa impeachment trial, ‘ni hindi pa nga po nakapag-start ng trial. So, parang isang judge na nagsabing hindi na siya guilty habang hindi pa dinidinig ang anumang ebidensiya.”</p><p>Asked whether the Palace believes that biased senator-judges should inhibit themselves from the trial, Castro said, “Hindi dapat mag-inhibit, pakita na lang nila sa tao kung paano sila kumilos at gumalaw para sa taumbayan.”</p><p>The House of Representatives impeached Sara Duterte in early February on charges of graft, corruption and an alleged assassination plot against former ally and running mate President Ferdinand Marcos.</p><p>A guilty verdict in the Senate would result in her removal from office and a lifetime ban from Philippine politics.</p><p>But after convening as an impeachment court on June 10, the senior body immediately sent the case back to the House, questioning its constitutionality.</p><p>Her trial is not expected to start until the new Senate convenes on July 28.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;UNBECOMING&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>House impeachment prosecutor and Iloilo Third District Rep. Lorenz Defensor said Zubiri&#x27;s  “witch hunt” remark was “unbecoming of a senator-judge.”</p><p>Defensor said the statement could be interpreted as &quot;telegraphing&quot; a dismissal even before the trial starts and could affect public perception of the case. </p><p>He stressed that senator-judges should wait for the presentation of evidence in the trial, before coming up with a conclusion on the merits.</p><p>“It&#x27;s very unbecoming of a senator-judge in an impeachment trial to say that the impeachment complaint and the trial is a witch hunt. Hindi dapat nanggagaling ‘yun sa isang senator-judge, who is expected to receive the evidence with impartiality and to treat the impeachment as a constitutional process. Sana hindi na maulit ‘yun. We should limit what we say to the public, especially how we prejudge the impeachment, as well as the coming evidence during the trial,” Defensor said.</p><p>“Hindi maiwasan na ma-interpret ang sinasabi nila as telegraphing a dismissal early on before the trial will start,” he added.</p><p>“May ebidensya dito at naniniwala ang more than 215 members of Congress. Dapat pakinggan n’yo before calling it a witch hunt or saying na dapat i-dismiss ito. Because this is a Constitutional process which must proceed to find justice not for the complainants but for the Filipinos. If it&#x27;s an acquittal, we should accept it. If it&#x27;s a conviction, they should accept it. But they should receive the evidence first,” Defensor noted.</p><p>For Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, who is expected to join the House prosecution team, Zubiri’s remark is an &quot;insult&quot; to the civil society groups, that filed the first three impeachment complaints against Duterte before the House of Representatives, and to the lower chamber, that elevated the verified impeachment complaint to the Senate.</p><p>“It&#x27;s really unfortunate. It&#x27;s an insult to the House as the initiator of the impeachment process. Also an insult to the various groups that filed those first three impeachment complaints bago nag-adopt diretso ‘yung more than one-third of the members of the House,” De Lima said.</p><p>She asserted that there was sufficient basis for the action of the House of Representatives. De Lima also echoed Defensor’s call for senator-judges to avoid issuing comments on the impeachment, which could reflect their biases.</p><p>“Hindi po witch hunt ang impeachment. Nakasaad  sa Constitution, may batayan ‘yung mga charges. Kaya nga na-impeach siya sa House level. In other words, formally charged. Hindi naman ifo-forward ‘yung articles of impeachment kung walang batayan,” she explained.</p><p>“Witch hunt is out of the question here. You talk about witch hunt kung walang basehan. Pwede ‘yun siguro dun sa mga ginawa nila sa akin, the past administration, kinasuhan ako ng mga trumped up bogus charges… Ibig sabihin ng witch hunt, walang batayan. Para lang mang-harass, para lang i-persecute ka. ‘Yun ang ibig sabihin ng witch hunt, which is far from the very characteristics of this impeachment trial. So sana they avoid mga ganyan comments, which exhibit their personal biases with respect to the impeachment issues,” De Lima added.</p><div><strong>— With a report from Agence France-Presse </strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mp5BEJvKXXM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Malacañang on reminded senator-judges to refrain from displaying their biases on the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.</p>

Malacañang on reminded senator-judges to refrain from displaying their biases on the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Palace reminds senator-judges to be neutral in Sara Duterte impeachment trial

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Palace reminds senator-judges to be neutral in Sara Duterte impeachment trial

Pia Gutierrez,

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 08, 2025 03:09 PM PHT

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Updated Jul 08, 2025 04:38 PM PHT

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