Sara Duterte's camp clarifies 'bloodbath' remark in impeachment trial

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team on Monday insisted that her “bloodbath” remarks in relation to the impeachment trial were metaphorical, referring to her own potential “blood” rather than implying actual violence. Defense spokesperson Michael Poa made the clarification days after the Vice President once again referred to the impeachment trial as a “bloodbath,” stating that she “will be bloodied but unbowed.” “What she meant by that was that his own blood would be spilled because he was the subject of these impeachment proceedings,” Poa said in a press conference before the fourth day of the impeachment trial. “And that was clarified further when last week she said that she will be bludgeoned, isn’t she, so what she meant with bloodbath was actually herself,” he added. According to Poa, Duterte’s pronouncements should not be taken as violent as the vice president did not intend to insinuate that. “The Vice President made no such insinuation,” he said. To recall, it was in May 2025 when she first expressed that she wanted the impeachment trial to proceed because she wanted a “bloodbath.” This particular pronouncement of hers, however, had been repeatedly challenged and criticized by critics and political rivals, especially after she famously snubbed most of the House impeachment proceedings against her both in 2025 and 2026. Duterte has yet to also actually appear before the ongoing impeachment trial.