Sara Duterte: My lawyers 'confident' in winning impeachment case

Vice President Sara Duterte said Tuesday the members of her legal team were "more than confident" that they will win the impeachment case filed against her.

Duterte, who is currently in Cebu to thank her family's supporters, did not elaborate on the current preparations of her lawyers in her impending impeachment trial, but confirmed that she met with them upon arrival in the Philippines after her weeks-long stay in the Netherlands.

Vice President Sara Duterte says that her lawyers “are more than confident” that they will win the impeachment case filed against her: “Ako naman, I am most confident with the lawyers working on my impeachment case.” @gmanews

— Giselle Ombay (@giselleombay_) April 22, 2025

"Ang aking impeachment, sinasabi ng mga lawyers, they are more than confident na mananalo sila sa impeachment. Ako naman, I am most confident with the lawyers working on my impeachment case," the Vice President said in an ambush interview.

(My lawyers said that they are more than confident that they will win my impeachment case. On my part, I am most confident with the lawyers working on my impeachment case.)

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on February 5, with over 200 lawmakers endorsing the complaint. She was accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption and other high crimes.

Duterte has since filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition with urgent application of temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction before the Supreme Court. She asserted that the House committed grave abuse of discretion by "deliberately" freezing action on the first three impeachment complaints, then violated the constitutionally mandated one-year ban when the fourth complaint was signed by the chamber's majority.

Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero had said the decision on the impeachment trial of the Vice President can be rendered by October this year.

The commencement of her impeachment trial at the Senate is scheduled by the end of July.

Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor, a House prosecutor for the impeachment, previously said the prosecution panel for the impeachment trial of Duterte will include lawyers with experience in previous impeachment cases in the country.

Defensor said that, "they are litigators, practicing lawyers who have had experience in previous impeachments."

The Vice President just returned to the Philippines earlier this month after more than three weeks in The Netherlands, where her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, is currently detained to face charges of crimes against humanity. — VDV, GMA Integrated News