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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider VP Sara has 16 defense lawyers for impeachment trial

VP Sara has 16 defense lawyers for impeachment trial

Published Jun 17, 2025 08:27 am
Vice President Sara Duterte answers questions from the media during a press conference in Davao City on Monday, June 16, 2025. (Ivy Tejano/MANILA BULLETIN)
Vice President Sara Duterte answers questions from the media during a press conference in Davao City on Monday, June 16, 2025. (Ivy Tejano/MANILA BULLETIN)
A total of 16 lawyers will defend Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial, a document shared by the Senate impeachment court showed.

A copy of the Appearance – Ad Cautelam, which indicated the formal entry of Duterte’s lawyers, from the Fortun Narvasa & Salazar law firm was shared by Senate impeachment court spokesperson Reginald Tongol on Monday, June 16.

It was received by the Secretary of the Senate, who is acting as the impeachment clerk of court.

“The undersigned Firm and the lawyers whose signatures appear below, respectfully enter their appearance as counsel for Vice President Sara Z. Duterte without prejudice to any jurisdictional and/or other objections that she may have in this case,” the document read.

Duterte’s 16 defense attorneys are the following: Philip Sigfried Fortun, Gregorio Narvasa, Sheila Sison, Carlo Joaquin Narvasa, Roberto Batungbacal, Justin Nicol Gular, Lindon Miguel Bacquel, David Ronell Golla VII, Maria Selena Golda Fortun, Claraine Radoc, Francesca Marie Flores, Miguel Carlos Fernandez, Michael Wesley Poa, Reynold Munsayac, Mark Vinluan, Ralph Bodota.

Poa and Munsayac previously served under Duterte as Department of Education (DepEd) and Office of the Vice President (OVP) spokesperson, respectively.

Both resigned amid the congressional inquiries into the Vice President’s confidential funds use, which also became the basis for her impeachment at the House of Representatives on Feb. 5.

This latest development came after the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, sent the writ of summons on June 11.

The summons gave Duterte 10 days from its receipt to reply to the articles of impeachment transmitted by the lower chamber to the Senate in February.

However, during a press conference in Davao City on Monday, Duterte said she relies on her lawyers’ advice regarding her personal appearance before the Senate impeachment court.

The impeachment trial is expected to commence in July under the 20th Congress after the senator-judges voted 18-5 in favor of remanding the articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives, which then certified that the impeachment complaint strictly complied with all constitutional requirements.

‘Not for business’

Meanwhile, Duterte sees no problem with sharing generated content by artificial intelligence (AI) on social media as long as it is not being used for profit.

This was her reaction when asked about the seemingly AI-generated content in support of her that was shared by Senator Ronald Dela Rosa and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, her brother.

The senator was criticized for not being able to tell the difference between real and AI-generated content.

“Wala yong problema siguro sa pag-share ng AI video in support sa akin. Basta ‘yung hindi ginagawang negosyo (I don’t see a problem with sharing an AI video in support of me. As long as it is not being turned into a business),” she told reporters during a press conference in Davao City on Monday.

“Kumbaga (It’s like), if I were a social media account owner, and gagawa ako ng (I will make an) AI to support a certain personality, walang problema doon kasi hindi ko naman siya ginagawang negosyo eh. Hindi ko naman binibenta sa mga tao yung produkto ko eh (there’s no problem there because I don’t do it for business. I am not selling a product to the people),” Duterte explained.

The said AI-generated video featured an “interview” with two male students explaining why they did not support Duterte’s impeachment. The caption of the video marked it with the hashtag #AI.

Related Tags

VP Sara Duterte impeachment trial Senate defense lawyers
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