While resignation has always been an option, Vice President Sara Duterte has no plans to resign as her impeachment trial proceeds, her defense spokesperson, Michael Poa, said Wednesday, August 26, dismissing speculation that she could step down before the proceedings conclude.

In a press briefing, Poa said resignation had been among the options considered by Duterte's legal team but stressed that it is not something the Vice President is currently planning to do.

“Hindi naman pinag-uusapan ng Bise Presidente 'yan. The Vice President is not even discussing that,” Poa said. “Obviously, as a lawyer, naisip na namin matagal na (we thought about it long before). That's one of the options, but, you know, the Vice President has no plans of resigning,” he added.

He said Duterte has also remained mindful of the mandate given to her by the millions of Filipinos who voted for her in the 2022 elections.

“She has always considered the 32 million people who voted for her,” Poa added.

Poa's remarks came as Duterte's defense team faces tighter restrictions on public comments following the impeachment court's decision to strictly enforce the sub judice rule.

The ruling has placed the defense under greater pressure to navigate public statements carefully, particularly as Poa serves both as a member of Duterte's legal team and as its spokesperson.

The camp is now urgently seeking a new spokesperson who is not part of the legal team and is therefore better positioned to handle public communications.

The question of how the restrictions could affect Duterte's public statements, however, remains a subject of discussion between the Vice President and her lawyers.

Poa said he would relay the presiding officer's remarks to Duterte and discuss with her how the camp should move forward, declining to pre-empt her response.

“I will relay what the presiding officer mentioned and then tingnan na lang natin kung ano ang mapag-uusapan natin tungkol diyan (we’ll just see what discussions arise from that),” Poa said. “I don't want to pre-empt kung ano yung sasabihin niya sa akin (whatever she may tell me),” he added.

Asked whether Duterte would be advised against making emotionally charged statements or publicly discussing the impeachment case, Poa said the defense would have to sit down with the Vice President and determine its strategy.

He stressed, however, that the sub judice rule should not necessarily be interpreted as a total gag order.

“Di naman siya total gag order na wala kang pwede pag-usapan (It’s not really a total gag order where you’re prohibited from talking about anything),” Poa said, explaining that the restrictions principally concern comments on the merits of the case, including matters contained in pleadings, the relevance of evidence and the credibility of witnesses.

Poa added that a vice president facing impeachment proceedings should still be allowed, to a certain extent, to express their sentiments, although whether a particular statement falls within the scope of the sub judice rule would have to be assessed further.

“Siguro naman ang isang Bise Presidente na sina-subject sa ganitong proceedings meron din karapatan to a certain degree may ilabas ang kanyang mga saloobin (Surely, a Vice President who is subjected to such proceedings also has the right, to a certain degree, to express his or her sentiments),” Poa said. “But as to whether that's sub judice or not, perhaps that's something we can discuss further,” he added.

For now, Poa said the defense's priority is to comply with the impeachment court's orders while discussing with Duterte how she and her legal team should communicate publicly as the trial moves forward.

On speculation about her resignation, however, Poa was unequivocal.

“The Vice President has no plans of resigning as I speak now,” he said, reiterating that resignation is not currently being discussed between Duterte and her defense team. 

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