Vice President Sara Duterte’s legal team on Tuesday insisted there was no “smoking gun” to link her to the allegations contained in the impeachment complaint, as the camp prepared for what is expected to be a politically charged Senate trial.

Defense spokesperson Michael Poa said the impeachment case remained weak despite the House of Representatives voting overwhelmingly, 257 to 25, to transmit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate.

“We respect the Senate. Whoever the leadership is, we expect fairness,” Poa said.

The defense team said it would aggressively challenge both the admissibility of the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses when the Senate convenes as an impeachment court.

“At least here we have a chance to test the credibility of the witnesses, to test the evidence, to test admissibility,” Poa said.

The defense maintained that the prosecutors had yet to directly link Duterte to the allegations of unexplained wealth, misuse of public funds, bribery, and betrayal of public trust.

Shake-up

The impeachment battle intensified following the Senate’s abrupt leadership change Monday, when senators voted to replace Senate President Vicente Sotto III with Alan Peter Cayetano, hours after the House transmitted the articles of impeachment to the upper chamber.

The shake-up coincided with the dramatic reappearance of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa after months in hiding following the issuance of an arrest warrant against him by the International Criminal Court.

The developments fueled speculation that Duterte allies were consolidating control of the Senate ahead of the impeachment trial.

House stands by case

Meanwhile, House leaders continued to defend their case against Duterte.

House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability chair Joel Chua said the lawmakers were prepared to proceed “forthwith,” as required by the Constitution.

“The overwhelming vote showed many lawmakers wanted the process to continue,” Chua said.

Committee on Justice chairperson and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said the senators were constitutionally obligated to convene as an impeachment court once the articles of impeachment were received.

“This is not a matter of choice. This is a matter of duty,” Luistro said.

Deans, clergy sound off

A coalition of law deans and professors led by retired Supreme Court Justice Adolfo Azcuna warned that delaying or refusing to proceed with the trial could expose the senators to administrative and possible criminal liability.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines urged the senators to promptly convene as an impeachment court, warning that delaying the proceedings would undermine public trust.

Speaking from The Hague, Duterte thanked her supporters for their “unwavering support” but did not directly address the allegations against her.