MANILA, Philippines — Characterizing the respondent’s formal reply as a tactical evasion that avoids addressing the core allegations of official misconduct, a key leader of the House prosecution panel has called for the immediate opening of a full-blown public trial. Lanao del Sur 1st District Representative Zia Alonto Adiong declared that Vice President Sara Duterte has failed to put up a substantive factual defense against her historic Articles of Impeachment.
Adiong, who serves as the official spokesperson for the House prosecution team, noted that the Vice President’s highly anticipated legal filing leans entirely toward technical technicalities to shut down the trial before it can officially begin.
The friction follows the House panel’s submission of a formal five-page manifestation to the Senate Impeachment Court, where prosecutors argued that a formal point-by-point rebuttal was unnecessary because the Vice President did not provide any counter-evidence:
[ THE PROSECUTION CONTENTION MATRIX ]
│
┌────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
[ A PURELY TECHNICAL SHELL ] [ AVOIDANCE OF CORE CHARGES ]
• **Procedural Objections:** Adiong pointed out that Duterte’s • **No Coherent Narrative:** Prosecutors noted that the defense
50-page answer contains zero factual arguments or independent • failed to provide a clear factual story to deny the four heavy
proof to disprove the state's complaints. • counts filed against her.
• **The Dismissal Strategy:** The defense team's clear goal is to • **The Evaded Allegations:** The filing sidesteps specific
secure an outright dismissal by questioning the House's initial • accusations regarding the liquidation of **₱612 million in**
jurisdiction and committee processes. • **confidential funds**, DepEd bribery, and hidden wealth.
The Vice President’s defense team, led by attorney Michael Poa, filed their formal answer on June 1, counter-arguing that the entire case is fundamentally flawed. They claim the process has been heavily compromised by a rush to judgment by political rivals in the House:
[ THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEFENSE BLUEPRINT ] │ ▼[ The "Mini-Trial" Error ]──► The defense argues that the House Committee on Justice overstepped its bounds by running an actual trial—investigating witnesses and evaluating evidence—which the Constitution says only the Senate can do. │ ▼[ Retroactive Overreach ]──► Duterte's lawyers point out that several charges cite alleged actions from when she was still Mayor of Davao City, noting that an official can only be impeached for actions taken while holding their current impeachable office. │ ▼[ Lacking Final Verdict ]──► On the core issue of confidential funds, the defense notes that no court or legal body has officially ruled that any money was misused or spent illegally.
The filing of the prosecution’s manifestation marks the conclusion of the initial phase of the impeachment proceedings, shifting the legal machinery into the hands of the Senate.
| Impeachment Trial Phase | Calendar and Operational Schedule | Expected Constitutional and Legal Actions |
| Pre-Trial Conference | Formally locked for Thursday morning, 9:00 AM, June 18, 2026, at the Senate. | Presiding Officer Sherwin Gatchalian will lead both panels to mark evidence, align facts, and lock in witness lists. |
| Opening of Full Trial | Scheduled to begin presentations on the Senate floor starting July 6, 2026. | Senators wearing formal trial robes will sit as judges to hear arguments, question witnesses, and weigh the evidence. |
| Supreme Court Petition | Filed separately by the Duterte camp on April 1, currently under high-level judicial review. | A parallel attempt to have the High Tribunal declare the House proceedings completely void due to a lack of plenary debate. |
“There are no substantive arguments or counterarguments that they have actually supplied in their answers to the Articles of Impeachment. It was purely procedural and constitutional objections… What the Vice President and her legal team want is actually an outright dismissal of the case on threshold grounds. Her failure to directly answer the allegations only stresses the need for the trial to proceed,” Representative Zia Alonto Adiong emphasized during a television broadcast interview.
The rising tensions between House prosecutors and Vice President Sara Duterte’s legal team set up a high-stakes constitutional showdown as the Senate transforms into an active impeachment court. By relying heavily on technical and procedural objections, the Vice President’s defense team is taking a calculated gamble to end the case early. However, prosecutors are using this strategy to argue that she is avoiding the facts, using her “non-answer” to push for a full public trial. As acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian guides both sides toward the critical June 18 pre-trial conference, the country prepares for a monumental trial that will deeply test the balance of power across the government throughout 2026.