Will Sara Duterte, Mayor Baste appear at the impeachment trial? It depends, says the VP

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Vice President Sara Duterte was mum on whether or not she and her brother Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte will attend her impeachment trial.

The impeachment court has already issued a subpoena to Baste Duterte, while the House prosecution panel has expressed its intent to have Sara Duterte summoned to answer the charges lodged against her.

“Anong ibig sabihin? Manood ako doon sa kanilang sarsuela? Well, depende, wala pa namang pagpapatawag sa akin,” Sara Duterte said in an ambush interview in Davao City.

(What do you mean? That I will go there and watch their dance? Well, it depends, no one has called me yet.)

The vice president also said that she was already represented by her lawyers in the trial.

“Ang impeachment ay isang legal na process at yung pagpunta ng aking mga abogado doon, yun ang aking appearance at participation doon sa proseso na yun,” she said.

(The impeachment is a legal process and my lawyers are already there and that is already my appearance and participation in that process.)

Sara Duterte was also uncertain whether her brother Baste Duterte would attend.

“Wala akong info kung a-attend siya, pero ang napag-usapan namin noon at that time, mayroong subpoena sa kanya so sinabihan ko siya bago pa man lumabas,” she said.

(I do not have info if he will attend, but when we talked about it at the time, there was a subpoena against him and I told him before it came out.)

Baste Duterte will consult the city legal office, according to the vice president.

Asked about the overturning of the decision that set the conviction threshold at 16, Sara Duterte declined to comment, saying that her lawyers might scold her.

Bags of cash?

During the ambush interview, Duterte was also asked about an allegation that she received a large amount of cash that was delivered to her family. The question, coming from a person who did not disclose her media outlet, traced the allegation to Palace Press Officer Claire Castro.

Sara Duterte said that she has not seen any such report, but proceeded to lambast Castro anyway.

“Hindi ko napanood, yung sinabi niya so hindi ako maka-comment but coming from Claire Castro, alam naman natin na isa siya kahihiyan sa ating bansa so sabi ko nga lagi sa media, wag niyo bigyan ng espasyo yung mga ganyan,” she said.

(I did not watch what she said so I could not comment but coming from Claire Castro, we know that she is a shame to our country so I always tell the media, do not give those things space.)

GMA News Online has already sought clarification from Castro regarding the matter and will update the story once she responds. —LDF, GMA News