MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has reiterated that appearing through counsel rather than testifying personally at the impeachment court "does not diminish accountability or imply lack of transparency,"
Duterte's statement comes after her legal team announced that she would not attend the first day of her impeachment trial and instead would appear through her lawyers.
In a statement, Duterte said that the opinion of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for her to attend the trial was "of no importance,"
"Impeachment proceedings must be guided by the Constitution and due process. The respondent has the right to be represented by counsel, and the decision to personally testify is a matter of legal strategy and constitutional rights," Duterte said.
She also said that the burden (of proof) was on the prosecution to prove its case, and that the integrity of the impeachment trial deppended on its adherence to the rule of law, not on whether the respondent would take the stand.
"At all times, public officials are best served by keeping their personal opinions to themselves and relying instead on the law, established policies, scientific evidence, and objective facts when addressing matters of public concern," Duterte said.
Meanwhile, Defense counsel and spokesman Michael Wesley Poa said that Duterte's non appearance should not be construed as her abdication to the impeachment process, stressing that her mandate to serve the public is important.
"Ang mandato po ng bise presidente ay maglingkod sa bayan at ito nga po ang ginagawa nya (Her mandate from the people is to serve them and that is what she is doing)," Poa said.
The House of Representatives' prosecution team declared that no one "should fear the truth" and urged everyone to let the constitutional process take its course and allow the Senate Impeachment court to hear the evidence.
Duterte will be tried on four articles of impeachment; betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.
She is accused of misusing P612.5 million in confidential funds during her tenure as vice president and education secretary, amassing billions of pesos in unexplained wealth, bribing Department of Education personnel, and making public threats against President Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former speaker Martin Romualdez.
Speaking before reportes in a press conference on Monday, Prosecution spokesman and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said that the Senate was the proper forum to determine the facts—not the court of public opinion.
“No one should fear the truth. The proper venue to test the facts is the impeachment court, not the court of public opinion, Today is not about declarations or conclusions. Today is about taking the first constitutional step toward establishing the truth.” Adiong said.
Another spokesman, Kabataan partylist Rep. Renee Co said the case would be significant "not only for our institutions, but also for the future of our democracy,”
“The impeachment trial is a constitutional process. It is not a spectacle to cheer for or against. It is an opportunity to see accountability, due process, and the rule of law in action.” Co said.
Malacanang said the President won't be monitoring the impeachment trial, at least the start, and was leaving the fate of the vice president to the court.
In a press briefing on Monday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said the chief executive has officials matters to attend to following his recent official visit to Canada.
“The president does not need to monitor this personally; he will eventually be informed of the news regarding it,” Castro said in Filipino.
“The president has far more important work to attend to; he cannot simply sit around and watch,” she added.
The principal charges against her are: misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery, and threats against the government’s top officials including Marcos.