Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday said the real pressure she feels is not the impeachment and criminal cases she is facing, but the suffering of Filipinos, saying she is ashamed that she has done too little to ease their hardship.

Duterte said Filipinos should not worry or feel pressured by the legal battles she is facing, even as she accused the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of political harassment.

“The real pressure is the shame of being able to do so little to help ease your suffering right now,” Duterte said in a statement.

“Every time you wade through floodwaters, every time your children go hungry, and every hardship you endure because of the continuing rise in the prices of basic goods, I feel that what I am doing is not enough to ease your suffering,” she said.

Duterte said she had received numerous messages from Filipinos expressing support and concern over her impeachment and the cases against her, but she told them not to worry or feel pressured by her legal troubles.

Duterte also framed the hardships as a failure of governance, accusing President Marcos and other officials of appearing to prioritize their own interests over the welfare of the people.

“The real pressure is being a government official while seeing Marcos and some other officials apparently putting their own interests first instead of the welfare of every Filipino,” she said.

Duterte singled out the peso’s decline as another source of pressure, noting it had reached P62.77 against the dollar. She also cited what she described as the public’s loss of trust in the government.

Aside from an impeachment trial in the Senate, Duterte is facing a criminal case after a Quezon City court issued a warrant for her arrest on three counts of grave threats.

Duterte posted P360,000 bail on Saturday on charges stemming from her 2024 remarks against Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Duterte accused Marcos of controlling the senators, prosecutors, judges, and police, but said she remained confident she could fight the cases with the help of numerous lawyers.

“Even if Marcos controls the senators, prosecutors, judges, and police, I have so many lawyers helping me fight these cases who ensure that we will win them,” she said.