Why House prosecutors are betting 'all-in' on Article II in VP Sara impeachment

Following the House prosecution’s decision to drop three out of four Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, House prosecutor Manila 3rd District Representative Joel Chua said Saturday the panel is betting everything on Article II alone, because it's easier to understand for the public.

“Dito po sa’aming naging desisyon ito po ay pinagaralan namin at sa tingin namin ang article na ito ang pinakamadaling maunawaan ng ating mga kababayan,” he added.

Article II refers to the alleged undeclared and unexplained wealth of the Vice President.

“Mas minarapat namin na mag-focus na lang sa isang article which is ‘yung Article II —‘yung unexplained wealth. Ito po ‘yung huling article na amin pong piniresenta ang mga testigo,” Chua said at a news forum in Quezon City.

Echoing House lead prosecutor Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro, the lawmaker said, “All-in, itaya na po dito [Article II].”

The prosecution dropped Article I on confidential funds, Article III on bribery, and Article IV on assassination plot, grave threats and inciting to sedition against Duterte after a week of testimonies from the Anti-Money Laundering Council, bank and insurance firm officials, as well as lawyer and accountant Alexander Cabrera ultimately concluding that the Vice President and her husband accumulated unexplained wealth worth P817 million at the least and P1.5 billion at the most.

'Legal strategy'

Chua explained that dropping the three articles of impeachment was part of the House prosecution’s “legal strategy” as they have seen that the defense is planning to prolong the impeachment until next year.

“Kaya minarapat [namin] na mag focus na lamang sa isang article,” he said.

The House prosecutor said that their team is expecting the impeachment process to wrap up “by end of November or at least, at the latest, first week of December.”

However, defense lead counsel Sheila Sison said the prosecution’s decision to drop three of the four Articles of Impeachment against Duterte would not affect the defense panel’s presentation of its own evidence.

“We respect the decision of the prosecution. However, whether this will affect how the defense plans to proceed with its presentation of evidence is something that we must make clear: It will not,” Sison said.

“Because the prosecution cannot make decisions for the respondent and the defense. In other words, the prosecution cannot be allowed to have the benefit of its accusations without bearing the burden of having those accusations tested,” she added.

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte last May 2026 on allegations of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, bribery, and other high crimes.

The Senate impeachment court began the trial on July 6. —VAL, GMA News