VICE President Sara Duterte yesterday opposed calls for some senator-judges to inhibit themselves from her impending impeachment trial for allegedly being biased in her favor, saying no one will be left to judge the case if senators who are accused of being biased against her will also be asked to inhibit.
Duterte said senators who are openly against her and her family like Sen. Risa Hontiveros will also have to recuse themselves from the case if Duterte allies like Ronald dela Rosa, Robin Padilla, and Christopher “Bong” Go and others will inhibit themselves from the case.
“We cannot just demand the inhibition of senators-judges based on bias because the only position of a person is you are either for or against Inday Sara,” she said in Filipino at a press conference in Davao City.
The Vice President was reacting to calls on social media, including that of Christian Monsod, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, for Duterte allies in the Senate to inhibit themselves from the impending trial since their impartiality is already compromised.
Various sectors and personalities, including legal luminaries, have said Senators Ronald dela Rosa, Robin Padilla, and Imee Marcos should inhibit themselves due to their bias for the Vice President.
“If that is our basis for inhibition, we should also demand that senators who also have a bias against Sara Duterte, like Senator Risa Hontiveros who in a public speech, said that the Duterte family should be destroyed, to inhibit themselves,” she added.
Senate President Francis Escudero said he will leave the decision to inhibit to the “sound discretion” of senator-judges.
In a press conference, Escudero said there is nothing in the rules of impeachment that says senator-judges can move to vote that their colleague/s should inhibit because of perceived biases.
He said inhibiting oneself in the impeachment trial is voluntary.
If being biased will be the basis for inhibition, he added, senator-judges who are openly against the Duterte should also recuse.
He recalled that during the impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona, then senator-judge Franklin Drilon was asked by the defense team to inhibit for being allegedly biased against the accused, but it was not acted upon by the impeachment court.
Escudero said the only instance when a senator-judge will be prohibited from participating in the impeachment trial is when he or she is removed as a member of the upper chamber if found guilty of an ethics complaint filed against him or her.
Malacañang, meanwhile, said the public knows who among the senator-judges are biased and who are for the rule of law.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, in a briefing, also reiterated that the impeachment issue should be left to the senators.
“Let us allow them to carry out their duties and evaluate the events within the impeachment court itself, and the people will be the ones to see whether they are doing their jobs properly,” she said in Filipino.
Duterte said senator-judges should be given the “benefit of the doubt” that they will faithfully discharge their function as judges in the impeachment trial.
“If we inhibit based on bias, many senators for or against Sara Duterte will be inhibited. That’s why I’m saying that let’s give them the benefit of the doubt that they will do their job fairly according to the oath they took as senator-judges),” she said.
Escudero said the impeachment court will not entertain calls for the senators-judges to inhibit since those who are calling for inhibition are biased against the Vice President.
“They signed the impeachment complaint, so it is clear that they are anti-Sara. It is clear that they are in favor on the impeachment. I repeat: we will not entertain calls or recommendations of biased people in favor or anti the impeachment,” he said in Filipino.
Duterte’s camp, in a formal communication to the Senate, said the defense team will be composed of 16 lawyers. They are Philip Sigfrid Fortun, Gregorio Narvasa II, Sheila Sison, Carlo Joaquin Narvasa, Roberto Batungbacal, Justin Nicol Gular, Lindon Bacquel, David Rolla VII, Maria Selena Fortun, Clarlaine Radoc, Francesca Marie Flores, Miguel Carlos Fernandez, Michael Wesley Poa, Reynold Munsayac, Mark Vinluan, and Ralph Bodota.
REMAND ORDER
Escudero also took note of observations of legal experts that the impeachment court’s move to return the Articles of Impeachment to the House is irregular, saying if they think that the court erred, they can go to the Supreme Court to clarify the matter.
“I respect their opinion but I do not concur with them. The impeachment court has no limitations with what it wants to decide on … All motions will be entertained and will be put to a vote by the members of the impeachment court … If they think we did something wrong, they can go to the Supreme Court for clarification,” he said.
The Senate last week remanded the Articles of Impeachment to the House pending some issues that senators want congressmen to shed light on.
The House, however, deferred acceptance of the articles of impeachment following a decision of the prosecution panel to file a motion for clarification before the impeachment court.
While the House has approved House Resolution No. 2346 certifying that the impeachment proceedings initiated against Duterte fully complied with Article XI, Sec. 3 of the Constitution, the resolution is yet to be sent to the Senate, pending formal acceptance of the remanded articles.
The prosecution panel intends to file a motion asking the impeachment court to clarify its order for the House to issue a certification that the filing of the complaint was “not constitutionally infirm” and did not violate the constitutional one-year ban on the filing of more than one impeachment complaint.
The prosecution has also raised the need for the court to clarify its order asking the House if it still wants to proceed with the trial in the incoming 20th Congress, as the 19th Congress will end on June 30, saying it is impossible to comply with such order when the 20th Congress has yet to be convened.
San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora, a member of the 11-man prosecution panel, yesterday said the impeachment trial should proceed regardless if the House submits the certifications required by the Senate sitting as an impeachment court certifications or not.
Zamora said the prosecution team maintains that the proceedings can independently proceed despite the impeachment court’s requirements for the House to issue a certification that the filing of the complaint was “not constitutionally infirm” and a separate certification expressing the House’s intention to proceed with the trial in the incoming 20th Congress.
“No provision in our Constitution allows the return of the articles to Congress; that they can remand the articles; and there is no requirement for us to file a certification,” she told reporters.
Speaker Martin Romualdez earlier vowed to abide by the impeachment court’s order pending a motion for clarification that the House intends to file as soon possible.
FAKE VIDEO
Duterte said she sees “no problem” with the proliferation of videos produced through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) that seek to support her for as long as these are not used for profit.
Dela Rosa and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, the Vice President’s younger brother, has been drawing heavy flak for sharing an AI-produced video which shows young Filipinos opposing her impeachment trial.
“There’s probably nothing wrong with sharing the AI video supporting me for as long as it’s not turned into a business,” she said.
The AI video shows two male students explaining their opposition to the impeachment.
Castro slammed Dela Rosa and Mayor Duterte for sharing the fake video.
“The sharing of something like that, again, disinformation, fake news, should not have come from officials of government. It is suspicious, it further erodes trust when disinformation and fake news come from high-ranking officials themselves,” she said.
Castro also said the two officials should acknowledge their mistake and admit that the video is a fake.
‘SYSTEMATIC ATTACK’
Duterte said the “systematic attacks” against her office and Congress’ move to cut its 2025 budget to P733 million from the original proposal of P2.037 billion did not deter the Office of the Vice President (OVP) from delivering service to the public.
“It became more challenging for us to run our programs aimed at resolving the basic needs of Filipino but the criticisms and systematic attacks against the OVP were not enough to weaken, stop and frustrate us,” she said in her keynote address at the 2025 Pasidungog awarding ceremony in Davao.
She said that despite the attacks against her and her office, her programs, projects, and activities for health, livelihood, education, and food assistance were implemented “in response to the challenges our people face in their communities.” – With Jocelyn Reyes
