Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Atty. Sheila Sison and Atty. Michael Poa, members of Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team, hold a press conference in Makati on March 25, 2026, confirming that they submitted a letter to the House Committee on Justice declining participation in ongoing proceedings. They argued that only the Senate has the constitutional authority to conduct impeachment trials.  Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Atty. Sheila Sison and Atty. Michael Poa, members of Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team, hold a press conference in Makati on March 25, 2026, confirming that they submitted a letter to the House Committee on Justice declining participation in ongoing proceedings. They argued that only the Senate has the constitutional authority to conduct impeachment trials.  Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News



Jervis Manahan

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17832215663301774447490158viber_image_2026-03-25_18-10-00-451.jpg.webp" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Attys. Sheila Sison and Michael Poa, members of Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team, hold a press conference in Makati on March 25, 2026, confirming that they submitted a letter to the House Committee on Justice declining participation in ongoing proceedings. They argued that only the Senate has the constitutional authority to conduct impeachment trials. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News </div>MANILA — A 16-member team of lawyers will represent Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial, which is set to begin at the Senate on Monday.Unlike the prosecution panel, which is composed of lawmakers and private prosecutors, Duterte’s legal team consists entirely of private practitioners.The ABS-CBN Research and Verification Unit found that most of the lawyers are affiliated with the Fortun, Narvasa &amp; Salazar Law Office.Leading the defense is Atty. Sheila Sison, who has been practicing law for 12 years. There are no publicly available records of the cases she has previously handled.Also part of the defense panel is Atty. Michael Poa, who also serves as the team’s spokesperson.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/5/marcos-says-better-for-vp-duterte-to-attend-impeachment-trial-0829">Marcos says better for VP Duterte to attend impeachment trial </a></div>Among the members of the legal team, Attys. Gregorio Narvasa II and Philip Sigfrid Fortun are considered the most seasoned, each having more than four decades of legal experience.Most of the other lawyers on the team have been in the legal profession for less than 10 years.Narvasa is the son of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Andres Narvasa, who represented then President Joseph Estrada during his impeachment trial in 2001.Fortun, meanwhile, has handled several high-profile cases throughout his career. He served as counsel for Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson in the Kuratong Baleleng case and represented Sen. JV Ejercito in a graft case.Fortun and Narvasa also previously served as legal counsel for members of the Ampatuan clan in the Maguindanao massacre case before withdrawing in 2014.Poa, for his part, previously served in both the Department of Education and the Office of the Vice President.He was a former Department of Education undersecretary, chief of staff, and officer-in-charge for finance. His name was also mentioned in the Articles of Impeachment filed against Duterte.Other members of the Vice President’s defense team are Attys. Kristine Ferrer, Carlo Joaquin Narvasa, Justin Nicol Gular, David Ronell Golla VII, Lindon Miguel Bacquel, Karol Grace Oroceo, Clarlaine Radoc, Francesca Marie Flores, Miguel Carlos Fernandez, Mark Vinluan, Ralph Bodota, and Roberto Batungbacal.According to Poa, Duterte began organizing her legal defense in 2023.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/2/vp-duterte-impeachment-may-end-up-in-supreme-court-azcuna-says-1646">Sara Duterte impeachment may end up in Supreme Court, Azcuna says </a></div>“At that time, wala pa nga impeachment complaint. Nakita na nyang hahantong sa impeachment trial kaya hindi na sya nag-atubiling magkaroon ng set of lawyers to defend her at harapin ang alegasyon na ibinabato sa kanya,&quot; Poa said in an interview over the weekend.(There wasn&#x27;t even an impeachment complaint at that time. She saw that it would lead to an impeachment trial, so she did not delay finding a set of lawyers to defend her and to face allegations against her.)Poa added that the composition of the defense panel has remained largely unchanged over the past year.“Meron lang associates that have moved on to other careers, if you look at the list, halos lahat ay nandoon pa rin,&quot; he said.(There are some associates who have moved on to other careers, but if you look at the list, almost everyone is still there.)Poa also said Vice President Duterte is confident in the legal team she assembled to represent her throughout the impeachment proceedings.

A 16-member team of lawyers will represent Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial, which is set to begin at the Senate on Monday.

A 16-member team of lawyers will represent Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial, which is set to begin at the Senate on Monday.

Who will defend VP Sara in the impeachment trial? Get to know her lawyers

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Who will defend VP Sara in the impeachment trial? Get to know her lawyers

Jervis Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 05, 2026 11:27 AM PHT

Read More:

Sheila Sison

Michael Poa

Gregorio Narvasa II

Philip Sigfrid Fortun

Sara Duterte

Impeachment

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