Vice President Sara Duterte's defense team on Monday confirmed that it had filed its answer before the Senate sitting as an impeachment court in response to the impeachment complaint against her.

“We confirm that Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, through counsel, has filed her Answer before the Senate sitting as an Impeachment Court,” the vice president's legal team said in a statement.

Duterte had until 1 June to submit her response to the articles of impeachment.

According to her lawyers, the filing was made without prejudice to constitutional issues currently pending before the Supreme Court.

“Without prejudice to the constitutional issues presently pending before the Supreme Court, the Answer sets forth the Vice President’s defenses and raises significant constitutional, procedural, and substantive issues concerning the Articles of Impeachment and proceedings before the House of Representatives and Committee on Justice,” the statement read.

The defense team declined to publicly discuss the contents of the filing, saying the issues raised should be addressed before the impeachment court.

“We believe it is best that the matters raised in the Answer be addressed before the impeachment court rather than through publicity,” the lawyers said.

“We trust that the Senate will discharge its constitutional duty with fairness, independence, and fidelity to the rule of law,” they added.

The impeachment trial is scheduled to begin on 6 July.