The Senate impeachment court denied a request by prosecutors to require Vice President Sara Duterte to attend her trial as a hostile witness.
This ruling sets a critical precedent for the proceedings, as the prosecution intends to use the vice president's own testimony to support charges of sedition and grave threats. The outcome of the trial could determine whether the second-highest official in the Philippines remains in office.
The trial began on Tuesday, July 7, 2026 [1]. During the opening session in Manila, prosecution counsel Atty. Lorna Kapunan asked the court whether the vice president would be required to testify. Kapunan said, "We reserve the right to call the Vice President as a hostile witness during the proceedings" [2].
Despite this push, the court denied the request. A spokesperson for the House prosecution panel said the panel reserves its right to seek a subpoena to compel Duterte's presence in the trial [3]. The legal team's strategy focuses on allegations involving grave threats and sedition, adding to a broader set of three charges that include corruption, bribery, and an alleged plot to assassinate [4].
Reports regarding Duterte's presence at the Senate on the first day of the trial have been contradictory. Some reports indicated she was not present for the first day, while other summaries suggested she arrived several hours before the session began [2, 5].
Duterte has remained defiant in the face of the proceedings. "I expect to be bloodied but unbowed," she said [1].
“"I expect to be bloodied but unbowed."”
The court's refusal to compel the vice president's attendance as a hostile witness at this stage limits the prosecution's ability to secure immediate admissions from the defendant. By reserving the right to seek a subpoena, prosecutors are maintaining a legal pathway to force her testimony later, but the current ruling suggests the court will not bypass standard witness procedures to expedite the trial's confrontation phase.
