Human rights lawyer Dino de Leon pointed out that Vice President Sara Duterte's defense team did not once declare her innocent during the opening day of the impeachment trial on July 8, 2026. Instead, they focused on procedural objections and technical issues, avoiding direct denial of the charges.
Defense avoids innocence claim
De Leon, who previously served as counsel for Senator Leila de Lima, emphasized that the first thing a defense should do when a client is innocent is to plainly state it. “As a litigation lawyer, the very first thing you do when your client is truly innocent is tell the court that your client is innocent. When I served as counsel for Leila de Lima, that was our first message. We looked our accusers in the eye and declared that she was innocent. We never hid behind technicalities,” he said.
According to de Leon, the defense’s strategy appears to rely on technicalities rather than answering the accusations with evidence. “If your client is innocent, say she is. Show the evidence to disprove and discredit the evidence preliminarily shown by the Prosecution. Explain it to the Filipino people. That is what the public wants to hear,” he added.
Impeachment is sui generis
De Leon cautioned that hiding behind technicalities could backfire because impeachment is different from an ordinary criminal case. “It seems they don’t want to explain the accusations. They are being overly technical, and ordinary people can see that. Again, this is not an ordinary court, not a criminal case, not an accused. This is sui generis, and hence the behavior of the defense—being overly hostile and combative as if this were an ordinary adversarial proceeding—I will caution against that,” he said.
He urged the defense to avoid becoming “overly technical and overly hostile,” stressing that the impeachment court is ultimately accountable to the Filipino people.
Duterte's absence
De Leon also noted that Duterte’s refusal to personally appear before the impeachment court deprives the public of hearing her directly respond to the charges. “The Filipino people deserved to hear her stand before the impeachment court and state her position. Instead, they heard lawyers arguing technicalities while remaining silent on the most basic question: Is Sara Duterte innocent?” he concluded.
