Defense: Dropped charges lack basis
The withdrawal of three impeachment articles against Vice President Sara Duterte proves the accusations were baseless from the start, her spokesperson Salvador Panelo Jr. said Wednesday. House prosecutors rejected the claim, saying the move was intended to streamline the trial and focus on the charge they considered strongest.
The House prosecution panel on Tuesday withdrew Articles I, III and IV, leaving Article II, which accuses Duterte of unexplained wealth, for the Senate impeachment court to hear.
“The withdrawal is an admission that the allegations lacked basis from the very beginning,” Panelo said.
Prosecutors maintained that dropping the three articles would avoid a longer, more complicated trial and that the remaining unexplained-wealth charge was supported by sufficient evidence.
Due process dispute
The prosecution had presented evidence on the confidential-funds and grave-threats articles before withdrawing them. It abandoned the bribery article before presenting evidence.
Under the court’s ruling, Duterte will no longer present evidence or witnesses to rebut the withdrawn articles, leaving the prosecution’s evidence on those allegations without a formal defense response before the Senate.
Panelo called the move a denial of due process, saying it deprived Duterte of the chance to challenge the accusations and secure what he described as a deserved acquittal based on evidence and law.
Cost claims unverified
Panelo questioned the public resources spent on the abandoned charges, estimating that 20 trial days devoted to the confidential-funds and grave-threats articles cost taxpayers about P500 million, based on an assumed Senate operating cost of P25 million daily.
He further claimed that total public expenses, including House proceedings and other costs, could exceed P1 billion.
The Senate, however, has said the impeachment trial did not entail additional spending beyond its normal operations. Panelo provided no detailed accounting for his estimates, which remain unverified.
Defense under fire
Duterte defended lead counsel Sheila Sison after private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan called the lawyer a “bully” and “bastos” following Tuesday’s proceedings.
She likened Sison to David facing Goliath, saying the lawyer was being vilified for challenging allegations backed by what she described as overwhelming political power.
“Lorna Kapunan calling a defense counsel a bully is like calling David the aggressor against Goliath,” Duterte said.
Kapunan criticized Sison’s remarks against the prosecution panel and senator-judges, accusing the defense of repeatedly portraying itself as the victim.
Sison had opposed the withdrawal, arguing that prosecutors should not be allowed to present allegations and then abandon them without giving the defense an opportunity to rebut the evidence.
Political claims
The Vice President questioned why prosecutors brought the charges before the Senate despite what she described as a lack of compelling evidence. She praised Sison’s work, saying the defense team had spent countless hours preparing its case since 2023.
She also questioned whether alleged cash distribution and political maneuvering surrounding the proposed 2027 national budget could pressure senators serving as judges in her impeachment trial.
Duterte presented no evidence directly linking the alleged budget-related activities to the senators handling her case.
The prosecution has said it will focus on the remaining unexplained-wealth article. Duterte has denied wrongdoing.
A conviction on Article II could remove her from office and disqualify her from holding public office.