The embattled politician has spoken up about the recent events.
On Friday, February 7, Vice President Sara Duterte faced the public for the first time since her impeachment at the House of Representatives on February 5.
She did not have a long speech, opting to only say “God save the Philippines” as her comment on the matter.
She also thanked her supporters and told them to hang on, “…dahil sa taumbayan ang tagumpay.“
In the question-and-answer portion with the press, Duterte replied to multiple queries from the media.
According to Duterte, her team had been preparing for her possible impeachment since it was first floated in November 2024.
“We leave it to the lawyers,” and that she has set a meeting with her counsel this afternoon, the VP answered when asked about the forthcoming impeachment trial in the Senate.
Although, she revealed that their team is getting overwhelmed by an outpour of support from lawyers who had expressed their intention to assist her in the trial.
She also responded to questions about her defense team, such as its composition, “Sabihan ko na lang sila mag-announce sila kung gusto nilang mag-announce.“
On whether the team will include his father, former President Rodrigio Duterte, the veep said that PRRD is welcome to give his inputs and advise to the counsel, although she would personally tell him to back off from leading the entire preparation and proceedings due to his age.
VP Sara also shared that she had already communicated to her father through his secretary after the impeachment, recalling that she sent him a message that read “everything will be alright.“
The former President then replied with a video message of him singing ‘MacArthur Park’ by Richard Harris.
Meanwhile, the embattled Vice President claimed that she did not make any threat against President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., saying, “I did not make an assassination threat to the President. Sila lang ang nagsasabi niyan… na may assassination, may gunman.“
She also dodged a question about Marcos’ statement on the impeachment, where he told the press that he had “no hand” in the decision made by lawmakers at the Lower House.
“I do not want to answer that question,” Duterte said.
As of yet, the Vice President has not spoken to her friends in Senate, she noted when she was asked whether she feels assured by her allies in the upper chamber of the House.
Moreover, she has not yet been briefed about her role in the upcoming election campaign period of candidates under the PDP-Laban slate.
Instead, she confirmed her continued duties for the Office of the Vice President (OVP), which she says would help in providing voter education in association with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
“Wala pa tayo diyan,” Duterte on whether she intends to contend for 2028 presidential polls, despite having previously announced that she is “seriously considering” to run for President.
“Alam ko po yung penalties ng impeachment. The moment na nag-resign ako sa Department of Education… pinag-isipan ko na lahat ‘yan,” VP Sara said on the possible perpetual disqualification from holding public office if she gets convicted by the court.
She also did not directly replied to Senator Imee Marcos’ previous pronouncement, where the President’s sister said that she will be blocking the impeachment.
“Bakit kaya? Maybe we should ask her first [kung] bakit niya iba-block yung impeachment.“
When asked if she is confident about her allies in the Senate, “Hindi ko pa naisip ‘yan… I’ve not counted numbers of votes in the Senate, we are not there yet. The legal team is still in preparation of the defense and what we will do moving forward.“
As for her appearance in the impeachment trial itself, Duterte said that she will choose not to attend, if she is not required to be there.
As for the representatives that voted in favor of her ouster, Duterte said, “wala akong feelings about it,” citing that she does not have a close circle of friends in politics.
“Kung pwede namang hindi, and I understand pwede naman, hindi na. Kasi baka ma-intimidate lang silang lahat sa presence ko doon.“
She also advised her supporters to not protest in the streets, noting that amid rising prices of commodities, it would be impractical to do so.
Instead, Duterte encouraged them to express themselves through social media, so that they can still continue working.
With regards to Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC), which organized a ‘peace rally’ last January 13 to stop her impeachment, VP Sara said that she has not yet spoken to the church’s leaders.
But, in a message directed to them, told, “Salamat sa INC para sa panawagan ng kapayapaan.“
Clarifying her “God save the Philippines statement,” Duterte said that she does not only refer to it politically, but the general status of the country.
“Napagiwanan [ang Pilipinas] ng panahon at kapitbahay sa rehiyon. Malala siya since… 1990s, magulo sa Mindanao… ngayon, nagbabadya [na naman] ang gulo sa Mindanao.“
She also noted that daily wage workers have also faced more challenges, as their current wages are not enough to cover their necessities.
“Nakakahiya estado natin kapag nilagay sa global stage,” Duterte described the current situation of the country.
“Mas masakit maiwanan ng boyfriend o girlfriend kaysa maimpeach ka ng House of Representatives,” VP Sara ended the conference.
IMPEACHMENT
During a plenary session on February 5, 2025, it was disclosed that 215 members of the House of Representatives voted to endorse a fourth impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.
This number is more than the needed 102 votes or the third of 306 votes needed for the motion to be transmitted to the Senate.
This development made Sara Duterte the first-ever Vice President to be impeached by the House of Representative in Philippine history.
After that, 11 representatives have also been appointed by their peers to join in the impeachment trial as prosecutors.
On the same day, the Senate received the articles of impeachment against Sara Duterte, but it was not tackled in the plenary as the session was adjourned a few minutes after.
According to Senate President Francis Escudero, they will resume on June 2, weeks after the midterm elections in May.
As a result, the trial is expected to be completed by the incoming 20th Congress, instead of the current 19th Congress.