THE HAGUE – Vice President Sara Duterte stated that the controversy over her confidential funds could have been avoided if she had provided explanations during congressional hearings.
“I don’t want to answer because they filed an impeachment case. And I said, ‘Since you filed an impeachment, I will give my answers at the impeachment trial,’” Duterte told reporters after visiting her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, in The Hague.
She added that an intelligence expert would serve as a resource person during the impeachment proceedings.
Lawmakers earlier said it was good that the vice president would finally address the issue, but insisted she should have done so earlier.
Duterte previously attended a House committee hearing in September 2024 but refused to take her oath, leading the panel to allow her to leave.
She returned in November, took her oath, and was accompanied by personnel from the Office of the Vice President.
The Supreme Court has ordered the House of Representatives to submit details about the status of the first three impeachment complaints against Duterte, including their endorsement dates and how the House Secretary General handled their transmittal to the Speaker.
The high court also consolidated Duterte’s petition questioning the constitutionality of the fourth impeachment complaint with a separate petition filed by lawyer Israelito Torreon and others seeking to nullify the articles of impeachment.
Duterte is facing seven articles of impeachment, including allegations of threatening the First Couple and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The charges include sedition, loss of public trust, and misuse of public funds. The House impeached her on February 5, and the articles were transmitted to the Senate the same day.
While in The Hague, Duterte was joined by former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who said she thanked Filipinos on Duterte Street and supporters online.
Roque added that Duterte informed her father of recent events, including the deaths of three overseas Filipino workers aboard the MV Eternity C and updates on detained pastor Apollo Quiboloy.
The vice president, who left Manila on July 6, is expected to remain in The Hague until July 23 and will skip the upcoming SONA to visit the Filipino community in South Korea.