Sara Duterte tells impeachment prosecution: Spare us the arrogance and name-calling

MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday told the prosecution panel in her impeachment trial to “spare us the arrogance and the name-calling.” 

Duterte made the statement after counsel to the prosecution Lorna Kapunan called lead defense counsel Shiela Sison a “bully” for her conduct during Tuesday’s trial, where she criticized prosecutors’ withdrawal of three of four impeachment articles. 

“Lorna Kapunan calling a defense counsel a bully is like calling David the aggressor against Goliath,” Duterte said. “It is a convenient way to vilify the person defending against an overwhelming display of political power.”

She said prosecutors “started impeachment with allegations but failed to establish them with compelling evidence.” 

Duterte added that Sison was “simply doing her job” and that her legal team since 2023 had “devoted countless hours to preparing for this case, sacrificing sleep, family time, and peace of mind to study documents and prepare their defense.”

“The public deserves better than political theater disguised as accountability. If impeachment and the national budget are being used as instruments of political survival of the corrupt, then it is the people—not the defense counsel—who are being taken for granted,” the Vice President said. 

“So spare us the arrogance and the name-calling. A defense counsel does not become a bully simply because she refuses to let your accusations go unchallenged.”

The prosecution told the impeachment court on Tuesday that it was dropping the articles accusing Duterte of grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., confidential funds misuse, and bribery of Department of Education  officials.

It is retaining one article on unexplained wealth.

Sison noted that the prosecution had been given the opportunity to present evidence in relation to the two articles, while Duterte as the respondent “would be at risk of being denied the benefit of having that evidence contradicted.”

“We feel and believe that this is not fairness, and it is not keeping with the guarantees of due process because the right to be heard is not merely satisfied by allowing the respondent some room to present evidence on her behalf,” she said. 

She added that shortening the proceedings so the court could immediately come up with a decision poses the risk of a “mistrial.”