Vice President Sara Duterte said she has accepted whatever the outcome of the impeachment trial may be, adding that she rarely thinks about it, as her legal team has been prepared since October 2023, when reports of her possible impeachment first surfaced.
“I told them (supporters) that you just leave the impeachment to me, and I am at peace, I am at peace whatever the outcome of the impeachment trial will be whether it be acquitted, or guilty. I have already accepted that — the two possibilities,” she told reporters in Zamboanga City on Friday, March 2.
The Vice President reiterated that she is entrusting the impeachment proceedings to her legal team.
The impeachment trial against her is expected to start in July.
Earlier, the official said that she met with her lawyers upon her arrival from The Hague last month to talk about the impeachment. She stressed that her lawyers are confident about their defense.
The Vice President denied that her going around the country to campaign for her father’s, former president Rodrigo Duterte, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) senatorial bets is about political survival since she would need as many Duterte allies in the Senate as possible when it’s time to vote for her acquittal or conviction.
“No. No as I said, in the stage earlier I will not talk about my impeachment because people might think that this is about my interest,” she stressed.
Instead, her campaign now is “about politicians and the administration promising to the people that they will deliver genuine public service,” she said, once more criticizing the deferment of the fulfillment of the 2022 campaign promise of P20-per-kilo of rice.
“So, this is about the hungry, the poor, and the oppressed,” she claimed.
CONFIDENTIAL FUNDS
Duterte also shrugged off the challenges posed by House leaders that she should answer questions about her usage of the controversial confidential funds instead of resorting to diversionary tactics and politicking.
“Naku, hindi po issue ang confidential funds dahil nag-file na sila ng impeachment. So huwag nila balik-balikan ang confidential funds dahil para sa kanila that is already a closed issue dahil nag-file na sila ng impeachment,” she explained.
The official, who was impeached by the House of Representatives in February, questioned instead the 2026 national budget, as well as the transfer of funds from PhilHealth to the national treasury.
“So dapat sila ang sumagot at dapat ang administration ang sumagot,” she stressed. (Raymund Antonio)
