The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte has vowed to present a solid defense on the impeachment complaints against her so that it would be difficult for the prosecution to become "unfair" against the vice president.
"We would like to present a solid defense na kahit alam nating may partisan politics involved, eh may hihirapan sila na maging unfair to the Vice President (even if we know that partisan politics are involved, they would still find it difficult to be unfair to the Vice President)," Atty. Michael Poa, spokesperson of Duterte’s lawyers, said in a television interview on Wednesday, 11 February.
"Yan lang naman ang target ng defense team (That is the only target of the defense team). Because we do believe that even if politics is involved, there are limitations. So as long as we are able to explain and show proof, and we'll just leave it up to them," Poa added.
But regardless of the motivation behind the complaints, Poa said all allegations should be addressed to enlighten the public.
He shared his personal view that there are allegations against both President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and the Vice President, noting that the accusations against the President are significantly larger compared to those against the Vice President.
Poa added that there should be a uniform standard because every single peso counts. Whether the complaints are politically motivated or not, he said he would leave that judgment to the public, as people form their own opinions from what they see in the news. Despite the variance in the amounts involved, he emphasized the need to address all allegations, whether smaller or larger, saying this is what the defense team is focused on.
Asked whether the Vice President is expecting fairness, Poa said he did not want to put words in her mouth since he is no longer her spokesperson. However, as far as the defense team is concerned, he said they remain optimistic about fairness.
"We'll leave it to the wisdom of Congress. Now, kung makita na unfair, there are legal remedies, at makikita din naman ng taong bayan yan (Now, if it is seen to be unfair, there are legal remedies, and the public will also be able to see that),” he said.