MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte revealed on Wednesday that her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, has offered to pay for the legal fees of lawyers handling the impeachment cases filed against her.
In the question posed by Bombo Radyo concerning the impeachment issues, the Vice President shared that she has been meeting with multiple defense lawyers since last year in anticipation of impeachment proceedings.
She explained that they have organized a team of lawyers for each case to ensure proper representation.
“President Duterte offered to send money for the lawyers because he knows there are many attorneys involved,” she said. However, she also mentioned that she told her father, through her brother, not to send any funds, as they had already prepared for the impeachment cases.
Duterte emphasized that preparations for the legal battle began last year after ACT Teachers Party-list Representative France Castro suggested the possibility of impeaching her.
“Once we saw the continuous attacks against me, we started preparing for the lawyers,” she stated.
Two impeachment complaints have been filed against her in the House of Representatives, but neither has yet to meet the required number of signatures for the case to proceed to the plenary.
A third complaint is reportedly being drafted but has not been officially filed.
The complaints mainly cite alleged betrayal of public trust, particularly over the misuse of confidential funds totaling P612.5 million allocated to the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education between December 2022 and the third quarter of 2023.
A congressional hearing revealed discrepancies in receipts submitted by the OVP, with many linked to individuals who do not have registered birth records.
While Duterte’s legal team remains confident in their ability to win the case, she acknowledged uncertainty about the process, recognizing that impeachment is both a legal and political matter.
“We are not confident with the process because impeachment is a legal process and a political activity. We do not know what will happen,” she said.