Camille Naredo

Private counsel for the prosecution Atty. Benjamin Tolosa examines Atty. Michael Poa during the 21st day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial at the Senate in Pasay City on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Private counsel for the prosecution Atty. Benjamin Tolosa examines Atty. Michael Poa during the 21st day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial at the Senate in Pasay City on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. Poa, who previously served as a Department of Education official and spokesperson for Duterte’s defense team, is set to testify on the disbursement of confidential funds during Duterte’s tenure as education secretary.  Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

VP Sara Impeachment

Daniza Fernandez

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/178859521936720260902-senate-vp-sara-impeachment-day21-poa-MT14.jpg" style="width: 960px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Private counsel for the prosecution Atty. Benjamin Tolosa examines Atty. Michael Poa during the 21st day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial at the Senate in Pasay City on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News"><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align: left;">Private counsel for the prosecution Atty. Benjamin Tolosa examines Atty. Michael Poa during the 21st day of Vice President Sara Duterte&rsquo;s impeachment trial at the Senate in Pasay City on Wednesday, September 2, 2026. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA -- Dropping bribery from the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte is not yet final, according to the prosecution team on Saturday.</p><p>Impeachment prosecution spokesperson Jay Tolosa said the team is mulling the dropping of Article 3 or the bribery accusation to hasten the trial.</p><p>&ldquo;Kaisa kami du&rsquo;n sa hangad na as much as possible ay i-expedite natin &lsquo;yung proceedings. Consistent &lsquo;yun sa mga naging actions natin. Nakita natin du&rsquo;n sa grave threats, marami du&rsquo;n sa mga witnesses namin na hindi na namin ipineresenta nung para sa amin sapat na &lsquo;yung napresenta namin sa pamamagitan ng tatlong testigo,&rdquo; he told reporters.&nbsp;</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/9/5/vp-duterte-posts-bail-at-qc-court-over-grave-threats-case-1252"><strong>VP Duterte posts bail at QC court over grave threats case</strong></a></div><p>Tolosa explained they have the discretion to change the order of presentation. He said they may decide to discuss the article of unexplained wealth first, and if time permits, the bribery article will follow.</p><p>But between the two articles left, they decided to consider dropping the bribery article as they have gathered documents that will support the unexplained wealth allegation.&nbsp;</p><p>&ldquo;We asked the court to issue a subpoena to so many banking institutions tapos kumuha din tayong records from BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue), AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Council),&rdquo; Tolosa said.&nbsp;</p><p>&ldquo;Meron tayong nakuhang mga madaming dokumento na sa tingin namin talagang importanteng maipakita &lsquo;to sa proceedings. It will go to waste kung &lsquo;yan naman &lsquo;yung hindi na natin ipe-pursue,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;</p><p>The defense team agreed that should an article be dropped, the trial will be fast-tracked, but it stressed they will respect whatever the prosecution&rsquo;s decision be.</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/9/5/arrest-warrant-vs-sara-duterte-not-finding-of-guilt-defense-1044"><strong>Arrest warrant vs. Sara Duterte not finding of guilt&mdash;defense</strong></a></div><p>&ldquo;Aantayin namin kung ano &lsquo;yung steps ng prosecution when they make it formal. When I say formal, kapag sasabihin na po talaga nila sa mismong impeachment proceedings. I think naman once that happens&hellip; I think the defense will be given an opportunity to comment, possibly, on the withdrawal, if it happens,&rdquo; defense lawyer Justin Nicol Gular told DZMM&rsquo;s Ano&rsquo;ng Ganap.</p><div><br></div><div><strong>DUTERTE AS WITNESS?&nbsp;</strong></div><p>Gular said the defense would need 90 days to present their witnesses.&nbsp;</p><p>Asked if Duterte will be presented as a witness, Gular said it is still on the table but there is no final decision yet.</p><p>&ldquo;The vice president naman handang mag-attend ng impeachment proceeding kapag &mdash; sabi nga ni Atty. Michael Poa &mdash; kapag kinakailangan,&rdquo; said Gular.</p><p>Gular also said they are prepared for whole-day sessions of the trial.</p><p>The Senate impeachment court will hold whole-day trials in October amid the deliberations on the proposed 2027 national budget.</p><p>Meanwhile, Gular stressed that the Quezon City Regional Trial Court&rsquo;s release of an arrest warrant against Duterte over three counts of grave threat does not mean she is guilty.</p><p>&ldquo;Hindi naman po &lsquo;yan finding of guilt ng vice president,&rdquo; he said, despite noting that he is not Duterte&rsquo;s counsel on the criminal case.</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/9/1/live-updates-vice-president-sara-duterte-s-impeachment-trial-day-20-0947"><strong>LIVE UPDATES: Vice President Sara Duterte&#39;s Impeachment Trial (Day 20)</strong></a></div><p>For his part, Tolosa said that the nature and penalties of the impeachment and grave threats case are different.</p><p>&ldquo;Iba naman ho &lsquo;yung obligasyon namin dito sa impeachment proceedings which is tuloy &lsquo;yung paglalatag ng ebidensya,&rdquo; the spokesman said.&nbsp;</p><p>Further, both the prosecution and defense have not commented on the possible lowering of the threshold for conviction.</p><p>Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri earlier said some senators are considering revisiting the conviction threshold as some senators are unable to attend the impeachment trial.</p><p>The conviction threshold is two-thirds of the 24-member Senate, or equivalent to 16.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>

<p>Dropping bribery from the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte is not yet final, according to the prosecution team on Saturday.</p>

Dropping bribery from the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte is not yet final, according to the prosecution team on Saturday.

Prosecution: Dropping bribery impeachment article vs Duterte not yet final

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Prosecution: Dropping bribery impeachment article vs Duterte not yet final

Daniza Fernandez,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 05, 2026 04:01 PM PHT

Read More:

Jay Tolosa

Justin Nicol Gular

impeachment

Sara Duterte

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