VP Duterte in PH despite skipping House impeach hearing – lawyer

Vice President Sara Duterte is in the country even as she decided not to attend the first hearing of the House justice committee on the impeachment complaints against her, her lawyer Michael Poa said on Wednesday. 

Poa, spokesperson of Duterte’s defense team, said this in a press conference, as he insisted that the Vice President is not obligated to personally attend the House impeachment proceedings.

“The Vice President is, of course, in the Philippines. I’m not at liberty to disclose kung nasaan siya kasi (where she is) for security reasons, but she always has daily engagements,” he said.

In an earlier statement on Wednesday, Duterte said she would rather spend her time helping people affected by the soaring prices of petroleum products than attend the hearing.

She alleged that the House of Representatives is only using the impeachment hearing to conduct a “third fishing expedition” against her.

The Vice President added that there is no rule requiring the respondent in the impeachment complaint to personally attend the hearings of the House committee on justice.

She also reiterated that the panel should dismiss the complaints due to a clear lack of evidence.

According to Poa, the defense team sent a letter to the House committee on justice on Tuesday, March 24, which stated their “fundamental objections” to the proceedings. 

He also reiterated that the impeachment proceedings against the Vice President are “unconstitutional” and that the House is already pushing for a “mini-trial” within their chamber. 

“Ang initiation ng (the initiation of the) impeachment proceedings, that belongs to the House, that’s the exclusive power of the House. We’re not contesting that, but pagdating sa (but when it comes to the) trial, that power exclusively belongs to the Senate,” Poa said. 

Regardless, Poa maintained that the defense team is willing to answer any allegations against Duterte at the proper forum. 

He added that raising the matter to the Supreme Court (SC) is a possibility. 

“Our job as lawyers is to protect the rights of the client against harassment and all of these kinds of things. Sa ngayon, ang sinasabi namin (Right now, what we’re saying) is that is always a possibility… Especially since our objections to the proceedings is fundamental, hindi ito (this is not) mere technicality,” Poa said.

To recall, three impeachment complaints were also filed against Duterte in December 2024, all of which were connected to the alleged misuse of confidential funds.

It was the fourth impeachment complaint that was endorsed by over 1/3 of lawmakers from the House of Representatives and was later transmitted to the Senate as the articles of impeachment.

In August 2025, the Senate voted to transfer to the archives the articles of impeachment against Duterte, following the SC’s July decision declaring her impeachment unconstitutional. — JMA, GMA Integated News