Jamaine Punzalan

Vice President Sara Duterte arrives at a press conference to announce her intention to run for the country's presidency in 2028 in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila on February 18, 2026. Jam Sta. Rosa, AFP

Article (news)

Vivienne Gulla

Jervis Manahan

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1780279848534AFP__20260218__97XY3CA__v1__MidRes__PhilippinesPolitics.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Vice President Sara Duterte arrives at a press conference to announce her intention to run for the country&#x27;s presidency in 2028 in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila on February 18, 2026. Jam Sta. Rosa, AFP </span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>3r</strong><strong>d UPDATE</strong>) -- Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday said the Articles of Impeachment were &quot;constitutionally infirm, procedurally defective, and substantively deficient.&quot;</p><p>Duterte filed her answer on the Articles of Impeachment <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/20/vp-sara-duterte-has-until-june-1-to-answer-articles-of-impeachment-1731">on Monday</a>, also the last day set by the Impeachment Court for her to file a response.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/1/nearly-3-in-4-filipinos-support-sara-duterte-impeachment-trial-octa-survey-0947">Nearly 3 in 4 Filipinos support Sara Duterte impeachment trial: OCTA survey</a></div><p>&quot;Without prejudice to the constitutional issues presently pending before the Supreme Court, the Answer sets forth the Vice President&#x27;s defenses and raises significant constitutional, procedural, and substantive issues concerning the Articles of Impeachment and proceedings before the HOR and Committee on Justice,&quot; said her defense team in a statement.</p><p>In an Executive Summary provided by the OVP, Duterte alleged that the House Justice Committee conducted a &quot;trial&quot; that can only be done by the Senate.</p><p>&quot;The Articles are the product of a House Committee on Justice process that exceeded the constitutional limits of its authority,&quot; they wrote in the summary.</p><p>&quot;Rather than confining itself to the determination of sufficiency in form and substance, the Committee embarked upon what its own Chairperson publicly characterized as a mini-trial,&quot; Duterte said.</p><p>Duterte said that the Committee on Justice made an overreach when it &quot;issued subpoenas, received testimonial and documentary evidence, examined witnesses, and undertook credibility assessments.&quot;</p><p>Duterte also alleged that &quot;there are clear indications and declarations that the COJ had predetermined the impeachment of the Vice President even before purported additional evidence were received, completed, and assessed.&quot;</p><p>&quot;The proceedings were tainted by pre-judgment. Even before the conclusion of the hearings, several members of the Committee publicly declared that sufficient votes already existed to impeach the Vice President and that the evidence against her were allegedly already overwhelming,&quot; they said.</p><p>&quot;These pronouncements reveal that the outcome had been predetermined long before the proceedings formally concluded, thereby casting serious doubt on the impartiality and integrity of the process,&quot; the summary added.</p><p>Duterte also alleged that she was not given the opportunity to confront and answer new pieces of evidence that arose in the committee proceedings but were not originally in the impeachment complaints.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/20/ovp-confirms-receipt-of-senate-impeachment-court-summons-1054">READ: OVP confirms receipt of Senate impeachment court summons</a></div><p>&quot;This is not allowed and goes against rules of fair play. The Articles rely extensively upon evidence that was never part of, nor attached to, the impeachment complaints referred to the Committee on Justice for evaluation.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Instead, new affidavits, witness testimonies, AMLC materials, Ombudsman records, SEC documents, and other submissions were gathered only during the course of the Committee hearings and subsequently incorporated into the Articles after the Vice President had already filed her Answer,&quot;</p><p>Duterte said this &quot;deprived her of a meaningful opportunity to address the allegations against her and constitutes a fundamental violation of due process.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;NO PROOF&#x27;</strong></div><p>The defense team also alleged there is no proof of the misuse of the confidential funds.</p><p>&quot;With respect to the allegations involving confidential funds, the Defense maintains that there exists no final determination by any competent tribunal establishing misuse, malversation, plunder, graft, or any unlawful disbursement of public funds.&quot;</p><p>&quot;On the contrary, the supposed evidence presented before the House Committee itself confirmed that the releases of confidential funds underwent the requisite approval processes and that no finding of misuse had been made by the appropriate authorities.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/11/-2nd-eye-ok-house-impeaches-sara-duterte-again-1702">READ: In 257-25-9 vote, House impeaches Sara Duterte</a></div><p>Duterte also said the Articles of Impeachment &quot;failed to show ill-gotten or hidden wealth.&quot;</p><p>&quot;On the SALN of the Vice President, under the law, it must be shown that her assets were illegally acquired and/or that she willfully concealed her assets,&quot; they said.</p><p>The defense team alleged &quot;that the charges rest upon assumptions, conjectures, and speculative inferences drawn from claimed and alleged financial records, banking information, and materials falling outside the Vice President&#x27;s impeachable term.&quot;</p><p>&quot;The Articles fail to establish either the unlawful acquisition of wealth or the willful concealment of assets required under applicable law.&quot;</p><p>Duterte&#x27;s defense team also said the political destabilization, sedition, or purported threats of the VP comes from statements that are &quot;taken out of context, statements not made by the Vice President herself, or interpretations unsupported by competent and admissible evidence.&quot;</p><p>The defense team says the articles of impeachment must be dismissed.</p><p>&quot;There is a standard under the Constitution to establish culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, high crimes, or betrayal of public trust for an impeachable officer to be convicted of any thereof,&quot; the defense team said.</p><p>&quot;The allegations against the Vice President fall short of the threshold. Ultimately, none of the allegations sufficiently establish the constitutional standards for culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, high crimes, or betrayal of public trust,&quot; they added.</p><p>&quot;We trust that the Senate will discharge its constitutional duty with fairness, independence, and fidelity to the rule of law.&quot;</p><div> </div><div><strong>PROSECUTION TEAM READY TO RESPOND </strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="960" height="540" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pixJf0ExL9c?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong></div><p>Meanwhile, the House prosecution targets to reply to Duterte’s answer “within the week”, ahead of its June 8 deadline, according to lead House impeachment prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro.</p><p>“As soon as we receive the answer from the Vice President, we will be starting to prepare our reply, which is supposed to be filed within the non-extendible period of five days. Sana matapos namin within the week, para lahat ng responsive pleadings filed na with the Impeachment Court,” Luistro said in a press conference. </p><p>She and some House members hope the Vice President’s answer to the articles of impeachment will be “responsive” and “direct”, instead of raising supposed “technicalities”.</p><p>“Ang gusto sana natin, answer which respond directly, totoong tumutugon sa mga alegasyon na nilalaman ng Articles of Impeachment… We are hoping na finally makita natin ano ang paliwanag ng bise presidente sa mga alegasyon na noon pang 19th Congress ay hinihintay na ng taumbayan,” Luistro said.</p><p>“Matagal na niyang sinasabi, sasagot daw siya, haharapin niya sa tamang venue. Ito na ang tamang venue,” House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said. </p><p>House Trial Spokesperson Congressman Zia Alonto Adiong later said they will &quot;undertake a review of the submission,&quot; along with the legal team of the prosecution panel.</p><p>Meanwhile, House impeachment prosecutor Rep. Terry Ridon noted that Duterte&#x27;s Answer &quot;appears to be a rehash of the Vice President’s previous non-answer before the House Committee on Justice.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Based on the released Executive Summary, the Answer also does not appear to directly address the Vice President’s threats against the President—an act made well within her term as Vice President and in full public view,&quot; he added.</p><p>The House prosecution is ready to oppose any move for a dismissal of the articles of impeachment, according to Luistro.</p><p>“The Senate rules on impeachment do not speak about dismissal. The rules neither speak about remand nor about clarification. Ang sinasabi lang ng Senate rules on impeachment, trial. And after trial, the judgment is either conviction or acquittal… Kung may motion to dismiss or if the allegations are tantamount to a motion to dismiss, we will definitely oppose that,” she said.</p><p>But Luistro gave assurances the prosecution would not move for senator-judges perceived to be allied with the Vice President to inhibit from the impeachment trial. </p><p>“We recognize their prerogative to participate and decide on this impeachment trial. If ever there will be inhibition, definitely it will not come from us… This is a Constitutional duty, I don’t think that inhibition will be proper here,” she said.</p><p>In May, Duterte was impeached or formally accused by a large majority of the House of Representatives of graft charges and an alleged assassination plot against former ally President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. </p><p>Under the Philippine constitution, an impeachment triggers a trial in the Senate, where a guilty verdict on any of the charges would see her removed and banned from elected office for life.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/21/sara-duterte-impeachment-trial-may-start-july-6-1040">&#x27;Forthwith&#x27;: Sara Duterte impeachment trial may start July 6, says Tulfo</a></div><p>Sixteen votes in the 24-seat Senate would be needed to convict the daughter of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte in the chamber packed with her allies. </p><p>The Vice President has declared her candidacy for president in the 2028 election.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/28/house-members-warn-vs-online-voting-in-sara-duterte-impeachment-trial-1710">Sara Duterte impeachment trial demands ‘full presence,’ House members say in warning vs online vote</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/29/marcos-dela-rosa-online-voting-senate-1251">Marcos dares Bato: If you want to vote, show up</a></div><div><strong>— With a report from Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong></strong><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="960" height="540" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NVxuHlG4zqk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span> </strong></div>

<p>Vice President Sara Duterte’s legal team was set to file Monday her response to the articles of impeachment against her, which a Senate trial is expected to take up in July.</p>

Vice President Sara Duterte’s legal team was set to file Monday her response to the articles of impeachment against her, which a Senate trial is expected to take up in July.

Sara Duterte responds to impeachment raps

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Sara Duterte responds to impeachment raps

Jamaine Punzalan,

Vivienne Gulla,

Jervis Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 01, 2026 04:46 PM PHT

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Updated June 01, 2026 06:58 PM PHT

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Sara Duterte

Duterte impeachment

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