Sara Duterte Declines Comment on Impeachment Trial, Cites Contempt Risk

Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday declined to comment on the ongoing impeachment trial against her, citing the potential for being cited for contempt of court. This comes after show-cause orders were issued to two prosecutors for remarks they made regarding her trial. "Mako-contempt ako sir, eh, kapag sumagot ako sa impeachment (I might be held in contempt if I talk about the impeachment)," Duterte said in an ambush interview. "Masyado nang maraming problema ang mga abogado ko. Ayaw ko nang dagdagan yung kanilang problema with the contempt (My lawyers already have too many problems. I don’t want to add to their problems with the contempt)," she added. Duterte has yet to personally appear before the Senate impeachment court and is represented by her defense team. The trial entered its 27th day on Monday, with the impeachment court currently tackling Article II, which accuses the Vice President of accumulating unexplained wealth. The House prosecution panel has finished its presentation on Article I, which alleges misuse of confidential funds, and Article IV, which accuses her of making grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and others. Meanwhile, Michael Poa, the spokesperson for Duterte's defense team, stated that he is in constant communication with the Vice President regarding statements on the trial. "Hindi ko naman ide-deny na nagkaroon ng paguusap between myself and the vice president....Very receptive naman po ang ating vice president (I won't deny that there were conversations between the Vice President and me.... Our Vice President is actually very receptive)," he said in a press briefing. Poa added, "May mga bagay naman kaming napag-usapan na 'Kung sasabihin mo ito, palagay ko this will be covered by sub judice,' at 'Kung sasabihin mo man ‘yung ibang bagay, I don’t think naman sub judice ‘yan.' So may mga ganyan kaming pag-uusap (There were things we discussed like, 'If you say this, I think this will be covered by sub judice', and 'If you say other things, I don't think that's sub judice.' So we had those kinds of discussions)."