Vice President Sara Duterte’s camp criticized House prosecutors and the Senate majority after three of the four impeachment articles against her were dropped, claiming the move wasted more than ₱1 billion in public funds.
Duterte spokesperson Paolo Panelo Jr. said the withdrawal of most of the charges only reinforces the defense’s argument that the case was weak from the start. For the Vice President’s camp, dropping the articles is not a minor procedural move — it is being framed as an admission that the allegations could not stand under scrutiny.
Panelo also accused the Senate majority of pursuing a political objective: blocking Duterte from the 2028 presidential race. He argued that the impeachment process has been used not simply to test evidence, but to damage the Vice President’s political future.
With three articles abandoned, the trial is now focused on the remaining allegations involving unexplained wealth and alleged nondisclosure of assets. The prosecution will still have to prove those claims before the impeachment court, while Duterte’s defense is expected to use the dropped articles to question the credibility and intent of the entire case.
For Duterte’s camp, the message is clear: if the prosecution can walk away from most of its own charges after spending massive public resources, then the public deserves to ask whether this was ever about accountability — or politics dressed up as prosecution.
Screenshot form Office of the Vice President video