Vice President Sara Duterte's defense team wants allegations tied to periods before she assumed the country's second-highest office excluded from her impeachment trial, arguing that only acts committed while holding an impeachable position can be considered by the Senate impeachment court.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, defense counsel spokesperson Michael Poa said the camp would formally oppose efforts to include evidence and allegations predating Duterte's term as vice president.

“Our main contention is that anything outside, anything before her term as Vice President does not constitute an impeachable offense and therefore should be excluded from the proceedings,” Poa said.

He anchored the argument on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Duterte v. House of Representatives, which voided the previous impeachment complaint against Duterte in 2025 and discussed the constitutional limits of impeachment proceedings. 

Poa said the ruling made clear that impeachable offenses cover only acts allegedly committed while a public official occupies an impeachable office.

Under Article XI of the 1987 Constitution, the country's impeachable officials are the President, Vice President, members of the Supreme Court, members of constitutional commissions, and the Ombudsman. 

Both defense and prosecutor camps race to complete the pre-trial phase of the impeachment proceedings, which involves the marking and authentication of documentary evidence before trial proper.

Poa said adjustments ordered during the pre-trial process had accelerated the marking of evidence, particularly for Article 2 of the impeachment complaint.

He added that the defense had also introduced measures to speed up the processing of evidence under Article 1.

"We're really working now so that we can meet the schedule and not extend the pre-trial too much. Hopefully matapos naman," Poa said.

The lawyer expressed confidence that both the prosecution and defense were aiming to wrap up the pre-trial proceedings within the timetable set by the Senate impeachment court.

"As I've been saying the past few days, I think both sides are really looking to finish the pre-trial conference as soon as possible," he said.

6 July trial still achievable

Despite the efforts of both camps, Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. said he was "almost certain" that the parties would not complete the marking of documentary evidence on Wednesday.

According to Bantug, about 1,300 documents under Article 1 were processed during the day. The impeachment court, however, is handling roughly 8,000 documents in total.

"The pace today compared to the previous days was a bit faster," Bantug said.

The delays have raised questions about whether the Senate can keep to its target schedule of beginning trial proper on July 6. Bantug, however, said the timetable remains achievable.

"If you are basing on a simple count of calendars, it's still possible," he said.

Asked about the prosecution's request to open the sealed Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) box, Bantug said the matter remains pending before the impeachment court, which alone has the authority to rule on the issue.

Poa, for his part, declined to say whether the defense would oppose the request.

"May or may not be our response. So let's just wait for our formal response," he said.

Prosecutors previously moved to have the BIR box opened, arguing that identifying and marking the documents at the pre-trial stage would help streamline the presentation of evidence during the trial.

Under impeachment rules, the court is expected to issue a pre-trial order after the conference phase concludes. 

The order will identify the issues to be litigated, the evidence admitted by the parties, and other matters that will govern the conduct of the trial.

The renewed impeachment case against Duterte was transmitted to the Senate earlier this year after the House of Representatives approved articles of impeachment alleging, among others, unexplained wealth, misuse of public funds, bribery and betrayal of public trust.###