Sara Duterte’s attendance urged in Senate impeachment trial

This report is part of Inquirer’s special coverage of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment proceedings. For real-time updates, follow our live coverage of the impeachment.

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte should personally attend her Senate impeachment trial to show “seriousness” in answering the allegations of wrongdoing, the prosecutorial team said on Monday.

In a media briefing, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said that while it is Duterte’s “personal decision” whether she would appear before the court, she should attend at least the early sessions to show her earnestness in responding to the charges against her.

“That is her option (to attend), but it will send a clear message to the Filipino people, who have long wanted to see the vice president take this head-on,” Alonto Adiong, spokesman for the impeachment prosecution team, said in mixed English and Filipino, noting that her attendance would shape how observers would interpret the proceedings.

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“Her not attending is a personal decision, but the people will have a different observation altogether,” he added.

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READ: Sara Duterte’s political future at stake as trial opens

Duterte, 48, is facing the biggest political test of her career as she confronts an impeachment trial in the Senate for accusations that she misused hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential funds, amassed unexplained wealth, bribery, and threatened the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., the First Lady and a former House speaker.

“If we do not hear the answers or sentiments directly from Vice President Sara herself, then confusion will prevail,” Kabataan Rep. Renee Co, a spokeswoman for the prosecutorial team, said in the same media briefing.

Her trial comes as she has emerged as a favorite in early presidential surveys, buoyed by a fiercely loyal base that kept her appeal intact despite swirling controversy that has led to her being impeached twice. She announced her plan to run in 2028 after efforts to remove her from office resurfaced in February.

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Duterte has skipped the proceedings against her, as she denied any wrongdoing and called the effort to impeach her politically motivated. Marcos, with whom she had a public and acrimonious falling‑out, is constitutionally barred from running in 2028 and has yet to name a successor.

Whether the Vice President will personally attend remains uncertain. Last Friday, the Senate summoned her to appear, although Clerk of the Impeachment Court Renato Bantug said Duterte may either appear herself or be represented by her lawyers.

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Co acknowledged that how she attends the proceedings could be a part of her legal team’s strategy, “but at the end of the day, impeachment is both a legal and political process” that would benefit from her appearance.

Legal spokesman Benjamin Tolosa, Jr. said the prosecution team is unfazed whether Duterte attends the proceedings. “Our singular focus here will not change,” he said in the same briefing.

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“Regardless of her appearance, we will make sure that we will establish solid evidence to back the serious allegations against her, regardless if she will be there or not,” he added./coa