ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider VP Sara Duterte leaves impeachment response to defense team

VP Sara Duterte leaves impeachment response to defense team

Published May 13, 2026 10:20 am

At A Glance

  • VP Sara Duterte said she will leave impeachment-related comments to her spokesperson and defense lawyers
  • Duterte said she has "no feelings" regarding the impeachment complaint
  • The Vice President is currently in the Netherlands amid ICC proceedings involving former President Rodrigo Duterte
Vice President Sara Duterte said her spokesperson and legal team will handle all comments related to the impeachment case against her, describing it as a legal process. (Manila Bulletin/file)
Vice President Sara Duterte said her spokesperson and legal team will handle all comments related to the impeachment case against her, describing it as a legal process. (Manila Bulletin/file)
Despite being vocal in previous interviews about her impeachment case, Vice President Sara Duterte said she would leave all comments on the matter to her spokesperson and defense lawyers, stressing that it is a legal issue that should be handled by her legal team.
In a video interview released by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Wednesday, May 13, Duterte briefly addressed the impeachment issue during an interview in The Hague, Netherlands, on May 12.
“Sa impeachment, meron naman kaming spokesperson, may naka-assigned na spokesperson at defense team para sa impeachment. At ‘yan ay isang legal na proseso (In the impeachment, we have a spokesperson, an assigned spokesperson, and a defense team for the impeachment. And that is a legal process),” Duterte said.
“So, iiwan na lang natin sa spokesperson at sa mga abogado ang pagko-komento (So, we will just leave the commenting to the spokesperson and the lawyers),” she added.
When asked about her personal feelings regarding the impeachment complaint, the Vice President said she has no emotional reaction to the issue.
“Wala akong feelings about the impeachment (I don’t have feelings about the impeachment),” Duterte said.
The impeachment issue involving Duterte has remained one of the country’s major political controversies in recent months, drawing reactions from lawmakers, political groups, and observers.
Earlier, Duterte’s legal team said it was prepared to face the impeachment proceedings and remained confident in addressing the allegations against the Vice President.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2026/05/11/vp-sara-defense-team-says-burden-now-on-accusers-after-impeachment-articles-transmitted
Despite questions surrounding the case, Duterte refrained from discussing legal details and instead emphasized the importance of justice, peace, order, and national progress.
The Vice President is currently in the Netherlands as her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, faces proceedings before the International Criminal Court (ICC) over allegations related to his administration’s war on drugs.
Malacañang earlier confirmed that the Office of the President had approved Vice President Sara Duterte’s revised foreign travel schedule from May 2 to 15.
A Palace official said the travel authority, issued on April 28, covers visits to the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Duterte originally sought travel clearance from April 23 to May 15 but later revised her itinerary. 

Related Tags

Sara Duterte impeachment VP Sara Duterte latest statement Sara Duterte defense team Sara Duterte impeachment news Philippine political news
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.