Malacañang distanced itself anew from the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, insisting that the process is not a form of political persecution and is now entirely in the hands of the Senate.

Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said this after Duterte described her impeachment trial as “pure political persecution and harassment” in a recent interview in The Hague.

In her press briefing on Wednesday, July 9, the Palace Press Officer said they respect the Vice President’s opinion.

“Kung 'yan po ang kanyang opinyon, igalang po natin. Kung feeling niya po ay political persecution (If she thinks it’s political persecution, we respect her opinion),” she said.

“But as far as the administration is concerned, wala pong political persecution na binabato sa Bise Presidente (there is no political persecution being thrown at the Vice President),” she added.

Castro also noted that President Marcos has consistently refused to get involved in the issue and reiterated that the ball is now in the Senate’s court.

“Ayaw po ng Pangulo na ipahid sa administrasyon yung impeachment trial dahil ito po ay nasa kamay na ng mga senador (The President does not want the impeachment trial to be associated with the administration because it is now in the hands of the senators),” she said.

Castro also reacted to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, which showed that 42 percent of Filipinos opposed Duterte’s impeachment, while only 32 percent supported it—a reversal from the December 2024 numbers, when more respondents backed the complaint.

“Kung ano man po ang sinasabi ng survey, ‘yan po ang sentimyento ng taong bayan. So igagalang po natin yan (Whatever the survey says, that is the sentiment of the public. We respect that),” she said.

The Palace official acknowledged there may be confusion due to differing figures cited from another survey by OCTA, which earlier found that 78 percent of respondents wanted the Vice President to face the impeachment trial.

“So parang magkaiba po ata ang gusto ng tao na dapat siyang humarap sa impeachment trial at hindi sang-ayon sa impeachment complaint (It seems that people want her to face the impeachment trial but may not agree with the complaint itself),” she said.

The impeachment complaint against Duterte stemmed from her alleged misuse of confidential funds during her concurrent term as Secretary of Education, and public threats against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.