MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio vowed Tuesday to remain “bloodied but unbowed” as her impeachment trial gathered momentum for the second day, while House prosecutor and Iloilo 3rd District’s Cong. Lorenz Defensor reminded the Senate convening as an impeachment court that the historic proceedings would ultimately determine the standards of accountability, integrity and conduct expected of the nation’s highest public officials.
Arriving at the Senate before the continuation of the trial to confer with her lawyers, Duterte-Carpio declared, “In this bloodbath and bludgeoning, I will be bloodied but unbowed,” but declined to elaborate. She then left without answering questions from reporters.
Her flitting appearance came a day after the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, formally opened the trial and rejected the defense panel’s request to dispense with an arraignment, allowing the proceedings to continue without requiring her to enter a plea to each article of impeachment.
Presenting the House prosecution panel’s opening statement on the fourth Article of Impeachment yesterday, Defensor said the case goes beyond the Vice President herself and asks a fundamental question about the character required of those entrusted with the country’s highest offices.
“At the heart of this impeachment proceeding lies a fundamental question para sa ating lahat: Can we continue to entrust one of the highest constitutional offices to a public official who, on multiple occasions, purposely and willfully, and repeatedly, resorted to threats of violence against the very institutions that she swore to uphold and protect?” Defensor said.
He stressed that the proceedings would define the values expected from public officials.
“What values do we expect from those who occupy the highest office in the land? Delicadeza, palabra de honor, integrity, and loyalty to your oath of office. These are not outdated ideals; they are the foundations of honorable public office,” he said.
The fourth Article of Impeachment accuses Duterte-Carpio of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust and high crimes over her public threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
According to Defensor, the prosecution will rely not only on witnesses and documents but also on the Vice President’s own public statements.
“The evidence presented in this article are not just derived from testimonies and authenticated documents, but from the Vice President’s own words, own conduct, her very own public admissions,” Defensor said. “Her words were neither accidental nor taken out of context; they were uttered publicly with the intention to be taken seriously.”
He added that the threats carried greater weight because they came from the country’s second-highest elected official.
“Such statements carry a gravity far from the exercise of one’s freedom of expression; they strike at the very heart of government,” Defensor stressed.
To underscore that no one is above the law, Defensor cited previous cases involving bomb jokes and public threats, including minors linked to the recent Tacloban City school shooting, an airline passenger arrested for making a bomb joke, and a public school teacher charged for threatening the President.
“Ang pananagutan ay pinapairal sa lahat. Bata man o matanda, nasa laylayan man o nasa katungkulan,” Defensor said. “Kaya ang paglilitis na ito ay mahalagang mekanismong itinakda upang tiyakin na ang kapangyarihan ay laging may kaakibat na pananagutan. Accountability must apply to all or none at all.”
The prosecution continued presenting evidence, with National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Senior Agent John Mark Calilung testifying on how he preserved and authenticated the Nov. 23, 2024 video in which Duterte-Carpio made threats against President Marcos and his family.
He said investigators secured a preservation request from Meta, recorded the video, and generated a hash value to verify that the file remained unaltered before it was presented in court.
Defense lawyer Carlo Joaquin Narvasa questioned the admissibility of some documentary evidence, arguing that several were photocopies rather than original electronic records and noting the absence of the referenced USB or CD. However, the impeachment court allowed the preliminary identification of the documents, ruling that accurate printouts of electronic records may be treated as originals.
Despite the developments, Duterte-Carpio’s legal team expressed confidence in its presentation before the impeachment court.
“As long as we present our case and present what we want for the day, we should be happy,” defense spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa said.
Lead defense counsel Atty. Shiela Sison declined to discuss the defense’s chances of securing a favorable verdict, saying the legal team remained focused on preparing its case./PN
