Jamaine Punzalan

Date:  July 7, 2026
Location:   Pasay City
Philippines:   Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Vice President Sara Duterte arrives at the Senate on the second day of the impeachment trial on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. Duterte gave a one-sentence statement saying that she would be "bloodied but unbowed" before heading out for a quick meeting with her legal team, who, according to her, advised her not to answer any questions from the press.   Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

VP Sara Impeachment

Marilyn Cahatol

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday argued that the prosecution had “no proof” that she contracted an assassin to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. </p><p>The prosecution this week presented its first witness, John Mark Calilung, senior agent of the National Bureau of Investigation who investigated the videos of Duterte making alleged threats against Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and former House speaker Martin Romualdez during a November 2024 online news briefing. </p><p>“The prosecution admitted that the video does not prove any fact other than its existence. In simple words, there is no proof of any contracting of an assassin,” Mark Vinluan, counsel for the respondent, said on the third day of the trial.</p><p>“Trying to prove this stretched narrative using a hodgepodge of materials is a waste of this honorable court&#x27;s time and the Filipino people&#x27;s money,” he said.</p><p>The term “assassin”, the defense argued, “only came from people who took her statements out of their proper context and tried to exaggerate them for what they really meant.”</p><p>“The truth of the matter is this: she and her family were threatened. And while her response was unconventional, it was justified,” Vinluan said.</p><p>The lawyer cited “Operation Romanov,” a supposed plot to eliminate Duterte and her family, which a reporter mentioned during the 2024 livestreamed briefing. </p><p>“[Reporter Dempsey] Reyes talked about it, Princess Maui reiterated it, but the NBI gaslighted it,” the defense claimed.</p><p>Vinluan said the vice president was “the target of unauthorized intelligence and surveillance operations by government operatives that expose her family to high-level risks and security threats, thereby causing intense trauma and uncontrollable fear.”</p><p>The defense also said Duterte&#x27;s statement was the “culmination” of the “various threats and harassments” she suffered after the breakdown of her alliance with Marcos. </p><div><a href="http://Duterte defense team presents clips of emotional Zuleika Lopez from November 2024 video">Duterte defense team presents clips of emotional Zuleika Lopez from November 2024 video</a></div><p>“She didn’t commit an impeachable offense. She drew the line in the sand and said enough is enough. That is the meaning and that is the context,” Duterte’s counsel said. </p><p>Vinluan argued that grave threats and inciting to sedition, which Duterte is accused of, “fall under the jurisdiction of first-level courts, not other high crimes as contemplated by the Constitution as grounds for impeachment, and are therefore not impeachable.”</p><p>Members of the House prosecution panel previously asserted that Duterte’s alleged grave threats against the President constitute an impeachable offense.</p><p>Former Supreme Court associate justice Adolfo Azcuna has said that the grave threat accusation may be the strongest article of impeachment against Duterte, but the prosecution needs to prove the presence of malice.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/8/sara-duterte-as-hostile-witness-law-experts-react-1054">Sara Duterte as hostile witness? Law experts react</a></div><p>In a press briefing, Atty. Michael Poa, spokesperson for the defense team, said Vinluan’s explanation has given context to the defense’s case theory as to why “the allegations are baseless and not impeachable.”</p><p>The defense’s time for explanation was given for fairness after the prosecution responded to Sen. Risa Hontiveros’ question on why Duterte’s alleged threat is impeachable, which senator-judges flagged as sounding like a <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/8/escudero-warns-prosecution-defense-against-making-concluding-remarks-1442">“closing remark.”</a></p><p>The trial will resume on Monday, July 13, when the prosecution is set to present National Bureau of Investigation Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc as witness. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>WATCH: </strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tPborQsl9AQ?si=-lBQ3xXH-zNgWCYQ" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday argued that the prosecution “has no other competent evidence” to prove that she contracted an assassin to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.</p>

The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday argued that the prosecution “has no other competent evidence” to prove that she contracted an assassin to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Defense: No proof Duterte contracted an assassin

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Defense: No proof Duterte contracted an assassin

Marilyn Cahatol,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 08, 2026 05:49 PM PHT

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Updated July 08, 2026 06:40 PM PHT

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