Team Sara is punching back after the House justice panelโs latest impeachment hearing, saying the case being laid out against the Vice President looks less like solid evidence and more like a stitched-together narrative. In a statement dated April 30, her lawyer Paul Lawrence Lim slammed the hearingโs presentation on inciting to sedition and grave threats, claiming the materials shown were โcuratedโ and even โspliced,โ with key context allegedly left outโthen presented to the public like it was already the full story.
Limโs bigger point: you canโt convict someone on vibes. He argued that the hearing substituted opinion for facts and guesswork for real investigation, saying that kind of โevidenceโ shouldnโt clear even the basic bar of probable cause or a prima facie case. This response comes after the committeeโs final clarificatory hearing on April 29, where the panel voted unanimously that probable cause exists on two impeachment complaintsโmeaning the process is moving forward even as Duterteโs camp insists the foundation is shaky.
At that same hearing, the NBI submitted an affidavit tied to its investigation of Duterteโs remarks from a virtual presscon that were treated as alleged threats against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez. The NBI also authenticated the videos shown, saying they were not edited and not AI-made. Duterteโs side didnโt just dispute the clipsโthey disputed the interpretation, calling the attempt to connect dots into guilt a โgigantic leap in logic,โ and warning that implying accountability without direct proof is a shortcut that โexcites judgment without evidence.โ
Bottom line: Duterteโs camp is framing the whole thing as a โfishing expeditionโโa hunt for something damaging after the complaints were filed, not proof that was already there. And with the hearings done, theyโre now pushing the idea that if the accusations are real, they should stand up in a forum where rules are tighter and receipts matter: court-level standards, not committee theater.
Image from Inday Sara Duterte FB