Impeach court grants prosecution bid to drop 3 of 4 charges vs VP Sara

MANILA, Philippines — House prosecutors on Tuesday, October 13, dropped three of the four impeachment charges against Vice President Sara Duterte, including the charges over alleged misuse of confidential funds and an alleged assassination plot.

The Senate impeachment court, through presiding officer Sen. Chiz Escudero, accepted the withdrawal of Articles I, III and IV, leaving Duterte’s trial to proceed on a single charge of unexplained wealth (Article II). Prosecutors have not had their chance to present Article III (bribery) and have also dropped that charge. 

“Today, the prosecution respectfully manifests that it will no longer pursue three of them,” lead prosecutor Rep. Jinky Luistro told the court. “It will stand on one, and that is article two on unexplained wealth.”  

This means none of the three withdrawn charges will be put to a vote. Now, Duterte can only be acquitted or convicted based solely on Article II, which accuses her of unexplained and undeclared wealth.

The withdrawal is a major scaling back of the impeachment case, as the dropped charges included two of the most prominent allegations against Duterte: the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds, and alleged grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez. Prosecutors had already presented over a dozen witnesses on those two charges combined since July.

Dropping these articles means the prosecutors are now fully staking their case on the unexplained wealth charge against Duterte. Broken down, this article encompasses three matters: unexplained wealth, violations involving the SALN, and unlawful business interests. 

Duterte will not get to rebut the dropped charges in court with her own evidence, since Escudero ruled that her defense will present evidence only on the remaining charge.

Luistro called the move to focus on just one article “the most judicious course,” saying a narrower case would spare the court from weighing evidence and objections on all four charges. She cited public impatience with a case she said began in 2024, and the Senate’s pending hearings on the 2027 national budget. She said the prosecution still considers all four charges “equally strong.”

In Escudero's extended ruling, the court ruled that Article I and Article IV were dropped with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought against Duterte again during her current term in an impeachment trial.  

“Having elected to withdraw the articles after resting its case, the prosecution must therefore accept the legal consequences of that withdrawal,” Escudero said.

The third dropped charge, on bribery in the Department of Education, could be refiled in the future because prosecutors withdrew it before presenting any evidence.

The court also lifted the restrictions on making public statements (known as Rule 18 or the sub judice rule) for Articles I, III, and IV. This means that both the prosecution and the defense can speak of the three allegations outside of the impeachment trial.

“Upon the effectivity of this order, the separate merits of Articles I, III, and IV are no longer pending for adjudication. Accordingly, the prosecutors, the respondent, their respective counsels, and witnesses may publicly address, explain, and respond to any matter contained in those withdrawn articles,” Escudero said. 

With only Article II left for the defense to present its evidence for, the trial would likely finish well before the end of the year. 

Defense strongly objects

The defense’s strongly worded objection, through lead counsel Sheila Sison, hit the court for a ruling that limits Duterte’s defense to the one remaining charge while lifting the gag on public discussion of the three dropped articles.

Sison warned that the second part would open “a free-for-all type of accusing the respondent anywhere and everywhere.” 

“[The prosecution] presented their evidence. The court allowed them time, gave them opportunity, gave them platform, but now since they withdrew, your vice president can no longer speak or defend herself from those allegations,” Sison said. “We find that not only a bit unfair, I would say it’s completely unfair.”

She said the lifting of the sub judice rule, which bars parties from publicly discussing a pending case, was “not even a relaxation but what seems to be an entire abandonment of rule 18.” She added that “there should not be any single instance or occasion that this should be abandoned in the middle of trial.” 

However, Escudero defended his ruling and reminded the defense that lifting Rule 18 for the three dropped articles would give Duterte the chance to defend herself out of court.

"The reason behind the relaxing of Rule 18 was more to afford the respondent to respond in the manner she may deem fit both in this courtroom, subject to the objections and ruling of the court, and outside," he said.

"The last thing I want for anyone to say when they leave this courtroom is, ‘Hindi na nga pinayagan sumagot sa loob ng hukuman, hindi pa pinayagan sumagot sa labas.’ Then I’d rather have the rule allow them to speak rather than not allow them to speak. Let that be the position at rest than the opposite,” he said.

Escudero deferred action on the defense’s objection to lifting the sub judice rule to give Duterte’s lawyers time to consult the vice president herself.

Defense panel spokesperson Michael Poa also cited an existing gag order issued by a regional trial court in connection with the grave threats case, which would severely limit their ability to speak of the case in public. 

Shortened timetable

The prosecution must file its formal offer of evidence on Article II “within 10 days from today or until October 23,” Escudero ordered. 

The defense has 10 days from receipt to file its comments and objections. 

Duterte “shall have 26 calendar days from today within which to prepare for her presentation of evidence in chief" for Article II, with the defense’s presentation starting November 9.

The impeachment court will have about a three-week break after today before resuming the trial.

Escudero said the court will lose eight trial dates in November to budget hearings, an ASEAN-related break and holidays. The court set trial days on November 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19, 20 and 23. Some of those dates are split with Senate sessions or shortened, and December dates will be set in early November.