Vice President Sara Duterte has dismissed calls for her to take the witness stand in her active impeachment trial, maintaining that the trial must strictly follow constitutional mandates and legal guidelines rather than political expectations.
Her statement came as a direct counter to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who recently noted that the proceedings would be smoother if Duterte addressed the Senate impeachment court directly.
Duterte shot down the Chief Executive’s commentary, stating that his perspective has no bearing on the actual legal process.
“The opinion of a President in an impeachment proceeding is of no importance,” Duterte stated in a release on Monday, July 6. She further maintained, “Impeachment proceedings must be guided by the Constitution and due process.”
Duterte emphasized that, as the respondent, she has every right to be represented by her legal team, and that it is the responsibility of her accusers to substantiate their claims.
“The burden remains on the prosecution to prove its case,” she added.
Defending her decision to stay off the witness stand, the Vice President argued that standard legal representation should not be interpreted as an avoidance of accountability.
“Choosing to appear through counsel rather than testify personally does not diminish accountability or imply a lack of transparency,” she said, emphasizing that the trial’s legitimacy is tied to legal compliance. “The integrity of an impeachment trial depends on adherence to the rule of law—not on whether the respondent personally takes the stand.”
She further advised state officials to anchor their public declarations on objective evidence rather than personal bias.
“At all times, public officials are best served by keeping their personal opinions to themselves and relying instead on the law, established policies, scientific evidence, and objective facts when addressing matters of public concern,” she remarked.
The exchange follows comments made by President Marcos after his official trip to Canada, where he expressed that direct testimony would help clear the air faster.
“Of course, it would be much easier to get to the bottom of everything if you can speak to the accused directly, if the accused can answer directly, not through secondary channels, not through the lawyers,” Marcos had said.
While Marcos specified that his thoughts were personal and not a formal legal stance, he added that he would personally demand to face the court if he were in her shoes.
“But that’s just my own opinion. It’s not a legal opinion. I’m just trying to put myself in that position. I would probably, myself, if it was me being accused, I would almost insist over the advice of lawyers, if they advise me not to appear, I would insist on appearing.”