The legal team of Sara Duterte on Tuesday insisted the vice president has “nothing to answer” in the impeachment complaints against her, arguing the allegations lack sufficient factual basis and pointing to what it called a “double standard” in the process.
“Wala naman po kasing sapat na ultimate facts… so that is why wala naman po dapat talaga sagutin ng ating VP,” Duterte’s lawyer, Michael Poa, said in a radio interview.
The camp claims that the complaints fail to establish “ultimate facts,” a legal requirement in impeachment cases, describing the allegations instead as “speculation, self-serving inferences and conclusions of law and facts.”
He also questioned how the House Committee on Justice evaluated the complaints, saying similar cases were treated differently.
“Hindi pwedeng iba ang standards pag parehong nasa equal footing ang dalawang opisyal na in-impeach,” the Poa said, adding that some allegations were deemed sufficient even without court rulings.
“The burden of proof dito ay nasa prosecution… dapat i-prove muna nila may kaso sila,” he added..
Poa, however, acknowledged that the camp has not addressed all accusations publicly, saying they are holding back evidence should the case proceed to a Senate trial.
“Hindi na natin pwede i-telegraph lahat ng sagot… doon natin ilalabas ang ebidensyon,” the lawyer said.
He added that the vice president is not avoiding accountability. “She’s not evading accountability… she has been wanting to talk about it,” he said.
While raising concerns about due process, the camp said it would continue to engage the proceedings.
“Let’s give the committee the benefit of the doubt… nagsisimula pa lang ang proseso,” Poa said.