A "truth" like Vice President Sara Duterte's death threats to President Marcos and other members of the First Family cannot be erased by her repeated denials.

Thus, said House impeachment adviser and prosecution panel spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers in response to impeachment trial respondent Duterte's claim on Tuesday, July 14 that there was no proof of the allegation.

Barbers made sure to point out the obvious: There was a video of the Nov. 23, 2024 death threats from the Vice President. Both the prosecution and the defense panels have presented the video in the ongoing Senate impeachment trial.

"Hindi mabubura ng bagong press statement ang lumang video na napanood na ng buong bayan," Barbers said.

(The new press statement cannot erase the old video already seen by the entire nation.)

"The prosecution did not invent the Vice President’s words. We did not put those words in her mouth. We simply presented to the impeachment court what she herself said," he said.

"The Vice President now asks the public to believe that the statements she herself publicly made were not threats. But those statements were not whispered in private. They were made publicly, recorded, authenticated, and presented before the impeachment court through competent witnesses under oath," Barbers noted.

The former House quad-committee (quad-comm) overall chairman underscored: "Hindi nabubura ang katotohanan sa pamamagitan ng paulit-ulit na pagtanggi."

(Repeated denials can't erase the truth.)

The subjects of Duerte's alleged threats uttered Nov. 23, 2024 were President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez.

Sounding incredulous, Barbers further said: "What is truly remarkable is that the defense’s position would require the Filipino people to disregard what they themselves saw and heard.

"Millions of Filipinos witnessed those statements when they were first made. They have since been authenticated and presented before the court."

"Kung may pineke, sabihin kung alin. Kung may nagsinungaling, ituro kung sino. Ang malawak na paratang ay hindi kapalit ng ebidensya. Ang hinihiling ngayon ng depensa ay huwag paniwalaan ng taumbayan ang sarili nilang nakita at narinig. Pero hindi ganoon gumagana ang katotohanan," he said.

(If something was fabricated, say which. If someone lied, point out who. Broad accusations are not a substitute for evidence. What the defense now asks is for the people to disbelieve what they themselves saw and heard. But that is not how truth works.)

On Tuesday, Duterte claimed that the "complaint is not supported by evidence".

Duterte criticized what she described as repeated attempts to portray threats that did not exist and to create a false narrative surrounding the allegations.

"Repeatedly claiming that there were threats when none existed, inventing an assassin where there was none, and fabricating evidence to support those claims does not transform fiction into fact," she said.

Barbers said the prosecution remains confident that the Senate impeachment court will decide this case not on slogans, not on political messaging, and not on competing press releases, "but on the evidence presented under oath and the Constitution that every public official has sworn to uphold"