Pulong Duterte on VP Sara's impeach trial: Truth must prevail

The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte should bring out the truth, her brother, Davao City Representative Paolo Duterte, said Monday.

“Like many Filipinos, I hope the proceedings will be conducted fairly, professionally, and without unnecessary distractions. More importantly, I hope this process finally allows the truth to emerge from the mountain of accusations, speculation, political narratives, and noise that have surrounded this issue for months,” Rep. Duterte said.

“The Filipino people deserve facts, not rumors. Evidence, not innuendo. Truth, not propaganda. The Vice President Sara Duterte has made it clear that she is prepared to face the charges against her. We are confident that she will be given the opportunity to answer every allegation in the proper forum and under the proper process,” he added.

Duterte, however, also said that the motivations behind the prosecution of the Vice President before the Senate impeachment court should not be lost to the public.

“I ask everyone to allow the Senate impeachment court to do its work and to approach this historic process with an open mind. At the end of the day, political attacks may generate headlines, but only the truth can stand the test of scrutiny,” he said.

“We remain hopeful that this trial will not only settle the issues being raised but also expose the motivations behind them. Let the evidence speak. Let the facts prevail. Let the truth come out,” he added.

The Articles of Impeachment accuse the Vice President of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, bribery and other high crimes, based on the following acts:

a) systematic misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of confidential funds amounting to P500 million released to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million released to the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure as Education chief

b) amassing unexplained wealth manifestly disproportionate to her lawful income and earnings during her incumbency as a public official

c) failure to fully and truthfully disclose all her and her spouse's assets, liabilities, and net worth in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) including in her SALN for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024;

d) failure to divest, and instead, willfully continued, all her business interests during her tenure as vice president for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025

e) giving monetary gifts or payments to DepEd officials to induce the violation and circumvention of procurement and other related laws.

f) contracting for the assassination of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former Speaker of the House and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, by making grave threats, and by actively inciting sedition against the republic.

—AOL, GMA News