Diokno, Ridon challenge VP Sara's 'bloody' rhetoric amid impeachment trial


Vice President Sara Duterte, who has vocally described her impeachment case as a "bloodbath," reiterated her stance during the second day of her Senate impeachment trial on Tuesday, 7 July, prompting lawmakers to raise questions.
“In this bloodbath and bludgeoning, I will be bloodied but unbowed,” Duterte told members of the media while visiting the Senate to meet with her legal counsel for a strategic meeting.
Critics have called her brutal terminology unnecessary.
"Bakit puro bloody ang script? Impeachment trial ito, hindi action movie. Ang tanong ng taumbayan, sasagutin ba ang ebidensiya o puro drama na lang? (Why is the script entirely bloody? This is an impeachment trial, not an action movie. The question of the public is, will the evidence be answered, or is this just pure drama?)," Akbayan Representative Chel Diokno said.
Meanwhile, House Impeachment prosecutor and Bicol Saro Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon challenged the Vice President, who failed to attend the trial proper.
"Welcome to the bloodbath, Madam Vice President. But you cannot have a bloodbath through proxies. Attend the trial, confront the truth," Ridon said, hitting back at her dramatic statements.
The second day of the trial revisited Duterte's alleged 2024 death threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family, which ultimately sparked her impeachment case.
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Senior Agent John Mark Calilung took the witness stand, called by the prosecution to authenticate Duterte's livestream video.
"Sinabi ko sa kanya kapag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez. No joke, no joke (I told that person, ‘If I get killed, you kill BBM, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez.’ No joke, no joke)," read one of Duterte's lines presented to the Senate.
In a separate press conference, she also mentioned her desire to "behead" the president.
"Gusto kong tanggalin ‘yung ulo niya [Marcos] (I wanted to remove his head)," she said.