Vice President Sara Duterte will not attend the April 29 hearing of the House Committee on Justice on the impeachment complaints filed against her, her legal team said.

At a press conference on April 23, defense spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa confirmed that Duterte would maintain her decision not to appear before the House panel.

"Yes, that has always been our position," Poa said when asked if the vice president would skip the proceedings. "We must remain consistent with that position," he added.

The defense team, led by lawyers Poa and Atty. Sheila Sison, emphasized that the House hearings are not the proper venue for Duterte to answer the allegations.

Sison underscored that, under the Constitution, only the Senate can function as an impeachment court.

“Ang tamang venue, ang tamang panahon para sagutin at magbigay kami ng ebidensiya para sa Bise Presidente ay hindi sa Committee on Justice — ito ay before the impeachment court (The proper venue and the proper time to answer and present evidence for the Vice President is not before the Committee on Justice — it is before the impeachment court),” she explained.

“Kailangan lang natin basahin ang Constitution, sino ba ang impeachment court? Ang Committee on Justice? Hindi. Ito ba ang House of Representatives? Hindi rin. (We only need to read the Constitution. Who is the impeachment court? Is it the Committee on Justice? No. Is it the House of Representatives? Also, no.),” Sison said.

“So sino? According to the Constitution, ang impeachment court, if ever that will be constituted, ay ang Senado — the defense of the Vice President is ready to respond before the proper forum and during a fair trial (So who is it? According to the Constitution, the impeachment court—if ever constituted—is the Senate — the lawyers reiterated that Duterte is prepared to respond fully once a formal impeachment trial is conducted before the Senate),” she added.

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Poa also cited their pending petition before the Supreme Court of the Philippines seeking to halt the ongoing impeachment proceedings in the House.

According to him, attending the hearings would be inconsistent with their legal position questioning the process.

“We filed a petition before the Supreme Court, and we have to be consistent with that position,” Poa said.

The defense maintained that the vice president’s side would only present its case once proper trial procedures—including cross-examination—are allowed.

“Vindication will come once it is presented in the impeachment court and we are able to cross-examine all the witnesses and the evidence,” Poa said.

He added that the current House proceedings do not allow the defense to challenge the allegations fully.

“For us, that’s our position. For the members of the team, it’s the same—we have to be consistent with our stance. And even if it weren’t, there’s nothing we could do about it because, again, our role is only to assist our client, the respondent in this case,” Poa said in a mix of English and Filipino.

“We are not even allowed to cross-examine. What we’re saying is that if it does go to trial, let’s wait for the trial, wait for us to cross-examine so we can unmask all these witnesses against the Vice President and show you what really happened behind these allegations,” he added.

The House Committee on Justice is scheduled to hold what could be its final hearing on April 29.

Lawmakers are expected to tackle several allegations against Duterte, including claims of grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez.

During earlier hearings, lawmakers also examined financial records flagged by the Anti-Money Laundering Council as suspicious, including transactions involving Duterte and her relatives.

Amid the controversy, Duterte denied allegations that billions of pesos had moved through her bank accounts.

In a statement, the vice president said her financial record remains “clean,” pushing back against claims raised during the House inquiry.

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If the House Committee on Justice finds sufficient grounds, the impeachment complaint could be elevated for trial before the Senate, which serves as the country’s impeachment court.

Duterte’s legal team remains firm: they will not participate in House proceedings but are prepared to present their defense if a Senate impeachment trial is convened.

The April 29 hearing is expected to be the last hearing at the House committee level—but not the final step of the impeachment process.

The House Committee on Justice, in earlier reports, said it is targeting April 29 as the wrap-up of its hearings on the impeachment complaints against Duterte.

Lawmakers aim to conclude the proceedings and possibly vote on probable cause on April 29, which has been described as the last committee-level hearing before the case may move forward.

If the committee finds probable cause, the case will proceed to the House plenary for a vote and, if approved, will be transmitted to the Senate for an impeachment trial.

Duterte’s team explained that her absence is based on their position that the House lacks constitutional jurisdiction.

“Her attendance or her non-attendance is based on the position of the defense regarding the jurisdiction—or the lack thereof—in terms of the type or nature of proceedings being conducted,” lawyer Poa explained. “Hindi ibig sabihin nito na ayaw rumisponde ng ating Bise Presidente sa mga paratang (This does not mean that our Vice President refuses to respond to the allegations),” he added.

Poa stressed that the defense believes the appropriate forum is the Senate, which, under the Constitution, serves as the impeachment court.

“Naniniwala kami sa appropriate forum, na kung talagang aakyat ito sa Senate impeachment, makikita niyo yung sagot ng defense sa lahat ng paratang (We believe in the appropriate forum, and if this truly reaches the Senate impeachment court, you will see the defense’s response to all the allegations),” he added.

Sison also underscored that evidence presented before a House committee does not amount to proof.

“What’s important for us to understand at this point is that the mere presentation of supposed evidence before a committee that is not authorized to conduct a trial does not really amount to proof,” she said.

“Any evidence, whether it’s something you present in an ordinary place or in this impeachment proceeding, must still survive scrutiny. And when does that happen? It happens only in a proper trial, before a tribunal or a body that has jurisdiction to conduct a trial,” Sison explained.

Sison said the defense has been consistent: they will not participate in a proceeding they believe exceeds constitutional powers granted to the House or its committees.

Duterte’s lawyers also assured that the defense team remains prepared.

“Ang defense team, ready kami sa kung ano man ang pwedeng mangyari (“The defense team is ready for whatever may happen),” Poa said.

“Like what we have been saying since last year, at kahit nag-file tayo ng petition sa Supreme Court, di natin alam ang mangyayari doon, so we have been preparing, and we still are (As we have been saying since last year, even though we filed a petition with the Supreme Court, we do not know what will come of it, so we have been preparing—and we still are),” he added.

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