‘Nothing to answer!’: Duterte repudiates impeachment raps

Vice President Sara Duterte’s legal team on Tuesday insisted that she has “nothing to answer” in the impeachment complaints against her, arguing the allegations lack sufficient factual basis, as House leaders said her response failed to address the charges.

“There are no sufficient ultimate facts… that is why the Vice President really has nothing to answer,” her lawyer Michael Poa said in a radio interview, adding that the complaints were based on “speculation, self-serving inferences and conclusions of law and facts.”

Duterte’s camp also accused the House of Representatives of applying a “double standard,” saying her case was treated differently from the impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

In a verified answer ad cautelam (as a precaution), her lawyers said the complaints against the President were “summarily disregarded,” while the allegations against Duterte were given weight despite relying on testimonies taken under pressure during congressional hearings.

They also downplayed a Commission on Audit notice that disallowed about P73 million of the Office of the Vice President’s P125-million confidential fund spending in 2022, pointing out the ruling is under appeal and is not yet final.

House Committee on Justice chair Gerville Luistro, however, rejected the claim of a “double standard,” saying that both cases were evaluated following the same requirement: proof of personal participation.

‘Factual nexus’

“There was no personal participation on the part of the President,” Luistro said, noting that the complainants failed to show a direct link between Marcos and the alleged offenses.

“In the Vice President’s case, the personal participation is very clear,” she said, arguing that the complaints against Duterte established a “factual nexus.”

Luistro also criticized Duterte’s response, saying it did not directly address the allegations against her.

“While I was reading the answer, it looked like a motion to dismiss,” she said, noting that such pleadings are prohibited in impeachment proceedings. Because the allegations were not addressed point by point, she said they appeared “unrebutted.”

The complainants in one of the impeachment complaints echoed this, saying Duterte’s filing “conspicuously failed to specifically deny each and every material allegation,” effectively leaving the charges unanswered.

Bicol Saro Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon also pushed back against claims of due process violations, saying the Vice President was given ample opportunity to respond.

“It is incorrect to claim that the impeachment complaints failed to state ultimate facts,” Ridon said, adding that Duterte’s response “does not specifically and completely rebut the material allegations.”

Unresponsive

House Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega said the defense focused on procedural arguments instead of addressing the substance of the accusations.

“The root of the issue is being avoided, and it is being addressed through procedural arguments that do not respond to the substance of the case,” Ortega said.

The impeachment complaints stemmed from allegations of misuse of confidential funds, including the rapid disbursement of P125 million within 11 days in 2022, as well as claims of bribery and other high crimes.

Duterte was also accused of ordering the assassination of the President, the First Lady, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez if she were killed first.

The proceedings before the House Committee on Justice are continuing as lawmakers determine whether the complaints will advance further in the impeachment process.