Sara Duterte on dropping of bribery charge at impeachment trial: They don't have evidence

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Vice President Sara Duterte said on Tuesday that the dropping of bribery charges against her only means that the prosecution does not have enough evidence as her impeachment trial continues.

“Yung pag-drop ng bribery charge sa impeachment, ito 'yung sinasabi namin sa simula pa lang na, doon pa lang sa House of Representatives, the moment they filed, the groups filed the impeachment complaint, na walang ebidensiya lahat ng kanilang akusasyon,” she told reporters.

(The dropping of the bribery charge in the impeachment is what we have been saying from the very beginning—back when it was still in the House of Representatives, the moment they filed, the groups filed the impeachment complaint—that all their accusations have no evidence.)

The vice president said that the prosecution is only after her ouster from office.

“Dahil wala silang ebidensiya, ngayon na wala silang ebidensiya, kailangan na nila i-drop o hindi talakayin. Lumalabas na parang accountability kuno, paninira, todo-todong, araw-araw na paninira. Suwerte na kung matanggal si Sara Duterte,” she added.

(Because they have no evidence, now that they have no evidence, they need to drop it or not discuss it anymore. It appears like so-called accountability, but it's just smear tactics, full-on, daily character assassination. If Sara Duterte gets removed, then lucky for them.)

The House prosecution panel in Duterte’s impeachment trial dropped the bribery charge against her on Friday. This was done to meet its timetable for presenting evidence, panel member and Bukidnon Representative Jonathan Keith Flores said Sunday.

Article III accuses the vice president of bribing officials of the Department of Education during her tenure as its secretary from 2022 to 2024.

The prosecution on Saturday raised the possibility of referring the bribery allegations to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Ombudsman for possible criminal proceedings.

Hours after Duterte made the statement, the House prosecution panel dropped three out of the four Articles of Impeachment leveled against her, saying its case will stand on Article II alone on alleged unexplained wealth due to non-full declaration of assets and non-divestment of business. —KG, GMA News