MANILA, Philippines — Prosecution panel member Atty. Lorna Kapunan has criticized attempts to portray Vice President Sara Duterte as the victim in her ongoing Senate impeachment trial, asserting that the Filipino public bears the true burden regarding the alleged misuse of state funds.
Speaking during the House prosecution’s post-trial press briefing on Wednesday, October 13, Kapunan urged citizens to discard what she termed the “kawawa naman ang Vice President syndrome.”
She emphasized that the financial accountability case involves taxpayers’ money rather than the Vice President’s personal assets.
“So again, let us remove that kawawa naman ang Vice President syndrome. Let us not think like she is the victim,” Kapunan said.
“You, you, you are the victims. Whose money is this? These are public funds. These are not her personal funds,” she added.
The veteran litigator further accused Duterte of treating government finances carelessly, remarking that the Vice President utilizes state reserves without proper accountability.
“And yet she spends it as if it were her private ATM (automated teller machine). She spends it the way she wants to spend it without accountability,” Kapunan stated.
Additionally, Kapunan called out Duterte for using media press briefings to undermine the impeachment court and discredit the proceedings while casting herself as the aggrieved party.
“What she is doing in her press conferences—sinisira ang buong proseso, sinisira ang impeachment court. Sinasabi na moro-moro lang ito, sinisira ang buong administration, parang siya lang ang magaling na public official,” Kapunan noted.
While noting that the twice-impeached Vice President has frequently aired her defense publicly, Kapunan stressed that media briefings cannot replace sworn testimonies.
She challenged Duterte to directly address and clarify the flagged financial transactions instead of attacking the legitimacy of the trial.
The Senate impeachment court previously granted the withdrawal of Articles I, III, and IV—which addressed confidential funds, bribery, grave threats, and inciting to sedition—leaving Article II, focused on alleged unexplained wealth, as the remaining charge for resolution.
The House prosecution maintains that sufficient evidence supports removing Duterte from office for culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust.
Meanwhile, the defense team is scheduled to present its evidence beginning November 9.