Sara Duterte condemns name-calling during impeachment trial

Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday condemned the name-calling hurled during her impeachment trial, saying the accusations against her should be proven with evidence and not with insults, speculations, or political theatrics.

In a statement, Duterte said prosecutors and members of Congress who want to legitimize the impeachment complaints against her should be confident in the strength of the case.

She added that they should not be fishing for evidence during the trial or "desperately try to turn something they wish to be true into a wild story of alleged wrongdoing."

"A strong case does not need the adornment of theatrics. A senator calling a witness 'stupid,' a lawyer calling me the 'mastermind of a scam' or another witness referring to me as a 'brat' does not prove a case, nor does it produce evidence," Duterte said.

"Insults reveal the need to feign confidence in the face of a weak presentation," she added.

On Tuesday, impeachment court presiding officer Senator-Judge Francis Escudero ruled to strike off the record the words "scam" and "mastermind," which private prosecutor Atty. Mae Divinagracia used in her direct examination of Office of the Vice President Asec. Lemuel Ortonio.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Senator-Judge Raffy Tulfo took a swipe at OVP special disbursing officer Gina Acosta for failing to question supposed discrepancies on the acknowledgement receipts for confidential funds.

Tulfo said that for him, it seems that Acosta has become “stupid” due to her “blind loyalty.”

“So for me, in this case, you're stupid in the name of blind loyalty,” the senator-judge said.

“Naging stupido kayo sa ngalan ng isang tinatawag na blind loyalty. Nakapikit, kung ano ‘yung sinasabi sa’yo ng nakakataas, sinusunod mo na lang. Stupido ka pa rin, pero in the name of blind loyalty. Would you agree?”

(You acted stupidly in the name of so-called blind loyalty. You were just blindly accepting whatever your superiors told you and simply following orders. You were being stupid, but in the name of blind loyalty. Would you agree?) —AOL, GMA News