Faisal Mahmud
20 October 2026•Update: 20 October 2026
Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday said the prosecution had failed to establish an impeachable offense against her, accusing the government of desperately attempting to remove her from office through unsubstantiated allegations.
"When the House of Representatives’ prosecution team failed to establish a convincing case of an impeachable offense, all it could offer were wacky poses that were neither entertaining nor amusing," Duterte said in a statement.
She accused the government of shifting its narrative to portray her removal as a national security issue.
"Now, we are witnessing an apparent shift in the government’s narrative in taking me down," she said.
Duterte cited allegations involving Chinese funding for a business venture, a drug bust in Laos and a purported Mindanao-Davao conspiracy.
She questioned the evidence behind the accusations, saying none had been convincingly presented.
"What we see instead is desperation, exemplified by a purported travel authority for Laos that appears to have been fabricated to prop up a narrative unsupported by credible evidence," she said.
Duterte said the document had never been confirmed by the Office of the President, which routinely announces her foreign travels.
The impeachment controversy began in December 2024, when complaints alleging corruption, misuse of public funds and threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. were filed against Duterte.
The House impeached her in February 2025, but the Supreme Court subsequently invalidated the proceedings. Fresh impeachment efforts followed in 2026.
Duterte urged the government to stop political confrontation and focus on governance, saying Filipinos were "impoverished, hungry and angry."
