THE defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte is “defenseless,” a member of the House prosecution team said on Wednesday.
Trial spokesman and former Surigao del Norte representative Robert Ace Barbers made the assertion as he reiterated that Duterte’s counsels would be hard-pressed to counter evidence presented by the prosecution when the materials themselves came from the vice president’s camp.
“The defense is defenseless. In other words, how can you refute the evidence presented by the prosecution — given that the very documents submitted actually originated from the defense camp itself?” Barbers said in Filipino in a press conference.
“Bank records will never lie. I don’t think the bank managers will deny the existence of outstanding balances they reported before the impeachment court to controvert what the prosecution team laid down,” he added.
The former lawmaker also noted that the panel already expected the defense team to object to its formal offer of evidence.
In its comment before the Senate Impeachment Court, Duterte’s defense team sought to exclude key documentary evidence, including records from the Securities and Exchange Commission, Bureau of Internal Revenue and Anti-Money Laundering Council, citing technical defects, lack of witness authentication and failure to establish a direct link to impeachable offenses.
“We already expected that they would do that. They will attack the technicality of the trial. They will attack the documents that we have presented as evidence,” Barbers said.
“They will attack that. They will say it’s wrong, that it’s not allowed — simply because they have no counterargument,” he added.
The panel has withdrawn three of the four Articles of Impeachment against the vice president, leaving only Article II, which accuses Duterte of amassing unexplained wealth disproportionate to her lawful income, failing to truthfully disclose her assets and liabilities in her SALNs (statements of assets, liabilities and net worth) and maintaining prohibited business interests.
One of the panel’s witnesses, forensic accounting expert and lawyer Alexander Cabrera, earlier identified about P817.87 million in alleged unexplained wealth involving Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, from 2022 to 2025. A broader computation placed the amount at about P1.5 billion, which the defense has disputed.
“The evidence is substantial, and it is extremely difficult to refute or disprove — not least because it consists of actual documents, which cannot lie; this is not evidence that could have been fabricated,” Barbers said.
“So, once again, I would like to say that it will be difficult for the defense to challenge, or perhaps even rebut, the evidence we have presented,” he added.
The impeachment proceedings will resume on Nov. 9, with the Duterte defense team reportedly out to present 90 witnesses.
Barbers argued that the opposing side cannot simply overwhelm the proceedings with witnesses, lengthy arguments or procedural objections while leaving fundamental questions about the vice president’s declared wealth, income, assets and financial transactions unanswered.
“The number of witnesses is not the measure of the truth. What matters is whether they can address the documents and figures presented by the prosecution,” he said.
Duterte, he said, must explain whether her declared income reasonably accounts for the accumulation of her wealth and whether all business interests, investments and other financial holdings were properly disclosed.
“If all transactions were proper and above board, every figure should be explainable. Simply denying or casting doubt on the documents is not enough. These must be addressed with clear, concrete explanations and evidence,” Barbers said.
“The defense has the right to defend their client, but this process should not be used as an excuse to evade serious questions that need to be answered,” he added.
