Vice President Sara Duterte said she’s ready to face the Senate impeachment trial head-on, calling it a much-needed opportunity to defend herself and clear her name amid corruption allegations involving over P600 million in confidential funds.

“I completely agree with the 88 percent who said I should face trial. I’m part of that 88 percent,” Duterte said in a short interview in The Hague, Netherlands. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to answer the accusations against me and clear my name in the proper forum.”

She was referring to a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that showed an overwhelming 88 percent of Filipinos believe she should face the impeachment proceedings to directly respond to allegations of betrayal of public trust, graft, and other high crimes.

The charges are mainly tied to the alleged misuse of ₱612.5 million in confidential and intelligence funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education when she was concurrently its secretary from 2022 to 2024.

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on 5 February 2025, with 215 lawmakers voting to endorse the complaint. She is the first vice president to be impeached

Trial delay ‘not an issue’

The Senate, which will sit as an impeachment court, had originally scheduled the presentation of articles of impeachment for 2 June, but recently moved the hearing to 11 June. Duterte said the delay has little effect on her.

“It doesn’t really affect me. What I’m more curious about is how this delay might impact the case itself,” she said. “But that’s for our impeachment lawyers to assess. We trust them to look into any implications.”

Her legal team is expected to argue that the use of confidential funds, though controversial, was within her discretion as the head of the two agencies. The issue has sparked intense public debate over the limits of executive spending powers and the accountability of high-ranking officials.

On Marcos: ‘Reconciliation not a priority’

Duterte also addressed questions about President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s recent public overtures for a reconciliation with the Duterte family, who have been openly critical of his administration since 2023.

“At this point, I’d rather not talk about a reconciliation,” she said. “I don’t think personal issues should matter right now. What’s more important are the problems of the country and the needs of the people.”

Her remarks came after the President said he was open to reconciling with his former allies, including the Duterte bloc, as part of his effort to maintain political stability in the country.

He emphasized, however, that reconciliation “must come with no conditions” — a response to the calls from Duterte’s supporters to bring the former president home from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

A quiet birthday visit

Sara Duterte spoke to the media after a visit to her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, at the ICC detention facility in Scheveningen, The Hague, where he is being held on a charge of crimes against humanity in connection with the bloody drug war waged during his presidency.

The Vice President, accompanied by her mother, Elizabeth Zimmerman, made the trip as part of pre-birthday celebration on 31 May.

“We were late by 30 minutes, so we only had an hour with him,” she said. “But he was already waiting and was very happy to see us. He knew we were coming to celebrate with him.”

For her birthday, she brought him his favorite drink – Coke Zero.

“As usual, I bought him one. He didn’t drink it though—he said he would bring it to his room,” she said with a laugh.

During their visit, Sara updated her father on the results of the May elections. She said she shared the news that two PDP-Laban senatorial candidates and three guest candidates had won seats.

“I told him about the wins of Marcoleta, Camille Villar and Imee Marcos,” she said. “He was pleased.”

She also mentioned that Senator Imee Marcos had traveled with her to the Netherlands but was not allowed by the ICC to visit the former president.

“She wasn’t given permission to see him,” Sara said. “But I told him that she had submitted her committee findings to the Ombudsman.”

While some have speculated about Imee Marcos’s role in Duterte’s ICC case, Sara clarified that the senator is not involved in his legal defense.

“She’s not part of the legal team. She just wanted to talk to Attorney Kaufman, but I wasn’t part of that meeting,” she said.

Despite the challenges facing her family, Sara Duterte said her father remains upbeat and grateful for the support he continues to receive.

“He said he wanted to talk to Senator Imee but since it wasn’t allowed, he just said, ‘There will be another time for that.’”