Marcos: I'd appear before impeachment court if accused

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he would insist on appearing before an impeachment court if he were the one on trial, even against the advice of his lawyers. His remarks come days before the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, is set to begin the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. "But if I’m just trying to put myself in that position. I would probably, myself, if it was me being accused, I would almost insist — over the advice of lawyers, if they advise me not to appear, I would insist on appearing. Kasi kaya ko naman sagutin, sige sagutin natin (Because I can answer the allegations, so I’ll go ahead and do it)," Marcos told reporters in Vancouver after his official visit. The President noted that while "it’s really up to the accused whether or not they feel the need to appear," it would be "much easier to get to the bottom of everything if you can speak to the accused directly." Marcos served as a senator-judge during the 2012 impeachment trial of the late chief justice Renato Corona. The months-long trial ended with Corona’s conviction and removal from office. Marcos voted "not guilty" in that trial, which Corona attended. Duterte was once Marcos’ ally. The two ran alongside each other in 2022 and Duterte was Marcos’ education chief until her resignation in 2024. Tensions between the two politicians, their clans, allies, and supporters came to a head in late 2024 when Duterte said during a video conference that she had been in contact with a supposed assassin tasked with killing Marcos, his wife First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-House speaker Martin Romualdez, citing supposed threats against herself. That video conference was among the allegations cited in the House impeachment complaint and is expected to be examined during the trial.