Vice President Sara Duterte has come to the defense of Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, dismissing claims that the lawmaker is afraid of her and is deliberately stalling the impeachment proceedings.

Duterte responded to these criticisms during an ambush interview in The Hague, Netherlands, on 3 June.

“Sa pagkakilala ko naman kay Senate President Chiz Escudero ay hindi natatakot yun,” Duterte said. “There was a group called Spice Boys at the time sa House of Representatives, di ba? Yung mga matatapang na mga batang congressman. Parang kasali siya doon.”

(Based on how I know Senate President Chiz Escudero, he’s not someone who gets scared. There was a group called the Spice Boys back then in the House of Representatives, right? They were young and brave congressmen. He seemed to be part of that group.)

Her remarks came after Akbayan party-list Representative Perci Cendaña, one of the endorsers of the impeachment complaint against the Vice President, questioned if Escudero was avoiding convening the Senate as an impeachment court due to fear.

Cendaña emphasized that convening the Senate was “a solemn constitutional duty, not a seasonal accessory you put on or discard depending on the political weather, or one’s personal agenda.”

Escudero has denied the allegation, asserting that he is neither afraid of Duterte nor protecting her from impeachment.

The Senate, which will sit as an impeachment court, has rescheduled the presentation of articles of impeachment from 2 June to 11 June.

Duterte also addressed claims that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was being blamed by members of the Makabayan bloc for allegedly not supporting the impeachment process. She said she was unaware of such accusations.

"Hindi ko po alam, hindi ko po nasusundan. Actually, yung mga nangyayari sa Pilipinas kasi magkaiba yung time zone. So, gising na gising tayo dito, tulog naman sila lahat doon sa Pilipinas,” Duterte explained. "Pero ang pagkakaintindi ko ay madaming procedural lapses na nangyari na labag sa Constitution."

(I don’t know, I haven’t been following it. Actually, what’s happening in the Philippines — I haven’t been able to keep track because of the time zone difference. We’re wide awake here, while everyone in the Philippines is asleep. But from what I understand, there were many procedural lapses that violated the Constitution.)

On 5 February 2025, the House of Representatives impeached Vice President Duterte, with more than 200 lawmakers endorsing the complaint. The charges include betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes, primarily related to the alleged misuse of around P612.5 million in confidential funds.