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Jose Rodel Clapano - The Philippine Star
April 3, 2025 | 12:00am
Vice President Sara Duterte has withheld comment, saying she wanted to read the complaint first.
JESSE BUSTOS
MANILA, Philippines — The House prosecution panel handling the impending impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte is intensifying its preparations to ensure a strong and seamless case in the Senate, Iloilo 3rd District Rep. Lorenz Defensor reported yesterday.
Defensor, a member of the 11-member prosecution team, said that he and San Juan Rep. Bel Zamora – who are responsible for presenting the first Article of Impeachment – are about 80 percent prepared for the trial.
The first charge pertains to Duterte’s alleged death threats against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez.
To strengthen their case, the prosecution panel has conducted a mock trial to simulate courtroom proceedings and anticipate potential objections from the defense.
“We are preparing our testimonial and documentary evidence. And we have conducted a run through of what an impeachment court would feel like, anticipating possible objections from the defense team,” Defensor told House reporters.
He said the prosecution team is working diligently to anticipate and counter every possible argument from Duterte’s defense counsel.
Defensor added that the positive public reaction to the impending impeachment trial of Duterte is providing them with more encouragement and motivation to do their best, although the preparation is taking a significant amount of time.
“We get a sense of how our constituents view the impeachment trial and we have a strong sense that they want to see impeachment proceed and they want to see if there is accountability in this impeachment process,” he said.
The panel, according to Defensor, is carefully reviewing all seven Articles of Impeachment, ensuring that every member is well-versed in the case beyond their designated responsibilities.
He also confirmed that the prosecution team is continuously gathering and reviewing evidence, as well as refining its list of witnesses to present during the trial.
The impeachment case against Duterte stems from allegations of misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure as secretary.
The House committee on good government and public accountability has conducted extensive investigations into these claims.
Duterte faces charges of betrayal of public trust, corruption and misappropriation of public funds.
Youths want VP out
Amid the impeachment proceedings, a recent survey has highlighted strong disapproval of Duterte among college students, further fueling calls for her removal from office.
A survey conducted by the Center for Student Initiatives (CSI) found that 84.8 percent of Filipino college students believe Duterte should be ousted.
House Assistant Majority Leader and Zambales Rep. Jay Khonghun stressed that student sentiment is particularly significant since many of them directly experienced Duterte’s leadership at DepEd from 2022 to 2024.
Conducted online from Feb. 28 to March 16, the CSI polled 2,000 college students.?Of the respondents, 1,696 (84.8 percent) answered “yes” when asked if Duterte should be removed from office.
Additionally, 73.9 percent (1,477 respondents) expressed support for convening an impeachment court before the May elections.
“This survey showed that even the students, who had experienced Duterte’s handling of DepEd, believe that she had to be removed from her post. Why? Maybe because her handling of DepEd is not good also,” Khonghun said in a statement.
The lawmaker also pointed to allegations of bribery and corruption under Duterte’s watch at DepEd, which form part of the impeachment complaint against her.
