Prosecution drops bribery case vs Sara Duterte

House prosecutor Keith Flores listens to the testimony of a witness during Day 32 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on October 1, 2026.

Senate Social Media Unit

'The decision to not proceed with the bribery [charge] had nothing to do with the strength of the case,' prosecutor Keith Flores says

MANILA, Philippines – The prosecution will no longer present its bribery case against Vice President Sara Duterte in a bid to expedite her trial.

House prosecutor Keith Flores told the media on Friday, October 9, that the prosecution had informed the impeachment court about its decision in a filing on Tuesday, October 6.

“The decision to not proceed with the bribery (charge) had nothing to do with the strength of the case. We’re conscious about the timetable that the prosecution set for us to prosecute the entire articles of impeachment. But it no longer fit the timetable that we set to ourselves,” said Flores, who leads the team on the bribery case.

This means that the prosecution will end its presentation of evidence with its case on her alleged unexplained wealth. The prosecution had been mulling over the possibility since early September.

During the House good government committee inquiry in 2024, then-DepEd special disbursing officer Edward Fajarda claimed that when the Vice President was education chief, she ordered him to give cash to school superintendents through their bank accounts.

The prosecution initially requested eight trial dates to present its bribery case, and listed four potential witnesses. They include those who allegedly received or were offered bribe money from Duterte’s office in DepEd, namely former DepEd undersecretary Gloria Jumamil-Mercado, and former bids and awards committee chair Resty Osias.

Malacañang previously sounded the alarm over the prosecution panel’s possible move to abandon the bribery case against the second-in-command.

“If they withdraw the bribery case against the Vice President, wouldn’t Filipinos who want to know the whole truth be shortchanged or be disadvantaged?” Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro had been quoted as saying. – Rappler.com