Vice President Sara Duterte is willing to appear in person before the Senate impeachment court if the proceedings call for it, her defense team said, as the trial proper is set to begin on July 6.
Defense counsel Michael Poa offered the clarification in a Monday interview, addressing the question of whether the vice president would attend personally. He said Duterte is ready to take part as the rules require, correcting earlier accounts that suggested she would stay away and rely solely on her lawyers. Her readiness to appear “if necessary” was already signaled when her camp filed its answer to the Senate on June 1, seeking dismissal of the case.
Senate impeachment rules require the respondent to come before the court to enter a plea. If she declines, the court will record a “not guilty” plea on her behalf.
The July 6 date marks the evidentiary stage of a case that has been moving through the Senate for weeks. The chamber convened as an impeachment court on May 18, with senators sworn in as judges, and both the prosecution and defense submitted their pre-trial briefs on June 15 before a pre-trial conference on June 18. In its brief, Duterte’s camp denied all four articles and called the case legally deficient and politically motivated, signaling it would contest the admissibility of evidence gathered during the House hearings.
The impeachment stems from consolidated complaints accusing Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, bribery, and other high crimes, centered on the alleged misuse of confidential funds during her time as vice president and education secretary. A conviction requires a two-thirds vote of the 24-member Senate, or 16 senators, and carries removal from office and a permanent bar from public office. Duterte, who has announced a 2028 presidential run, has denied the allegations.
Duterte’s defense is handled by a 16-lawyer panel from the firm Fortun Narvasa & Salazar.
