After seeking 'bloodbath,' Sara Duterte skips impeachment trial opening
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte, who once said she wanted a "bloodbath" at her impeachment trial, does not plan to show up for its opening Monday, July 6.
Michael Poa, spokesperson for Duterte's defense team, confirmed her absence at a press conference less than an hour before the high-profile trial was set to start at 2 p.m.
"As of now, we can say that she is not today. She's here through counsel," Poa said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Poa said Duterte was in a planning session with her office to prepare for Super Typhoon Bavi (to be given local name "Inday"), and that he had spoken to her minutes earlier.
Duterte is the first vice president to face an impeachment trial and the only official so far to be impeached by the House twice.
The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, will try her on four articles covering the alleged misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery and threats to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez. She has denied all allegations.
A conviction on any single article — requiring the votes of 16 of the 24 senator-judges — would remove her from office and permanently bar her from public office, stamping out the 2028 presidential run she announced in February.
Defense: Duterte 'ready'
Asked about the prosecution's assertion that her absence today was a way of dodging her responsibility to the public, Poa disagreed and said Duterte has long been confronting the case.
"She formed a defense team a long time ago because she knew it would come to this," he said in Filipino.
Pressed on how her no-show squares with her earlier pronouncements that she was ready and wanted a bloodbath, Poa said: "She is ready and that's why we're here today. We've been preparing for ... more than a year now. So I don't think there's anything to reconcile there."
Poa would not say whether Duterte will attend future hearings, only that the defense will assess if her "physical presence" becomes necessary depending on how the proceedings unfold.
He remained mum on what circumstances would compel Duterte to appear. "That's part of legal strategy," Poa added.
Pressure to appear. Duterte's absence comes despite pressure from both the prosecution and Malacañang for her to face the impeachment court in person.
The vice president earlier snubbed the House clarificatory hearings on her impeachment, held in May 2026. At the time, her camp said she would only address the allegations in the Senate.
Marcos, speaking to reporters in Vancouver over the weekend, said that if he were in her place he would insist on appearing even against his lawyers' advice.
These remarks from Marcos had prompted a direct reply from Duterte today, who released a statement saying: "The opinion of a President in an impeachment proceeding is of no importance."
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