Duterte’s defense team disputes claims they were unprepared in pre-trial

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team on her impeachment trial on Thursday disputed claims that they were not ready during the first day of the pre-trial conference.

In an interview with Senate reporters on the sidelines of the closed-door conference, defense spokesperson Michael Poa questioned where such information came from.

“To be honest, although I respect those who made those remarks, I do not understand where that is coming from,” said Poa.

“The defense takes exception to that because definitely, we came here prepared,” he added.

READ: Sara Duterte impeachment pre-trial conference commences

Poa said the defense team has been preparing for the impeachment trial for “the longest time” and expressed confidence that no one present in the conference would dare say that they were unprepared.

“So I really don’t know where that is coming from. But in any case, we respect the opinions of everyone. But again, the records will speak for themselves,” said Poa.

The pre-trial conference for Duterte’s impeachment is set to resume on Monday, June 22 to finish marking the evidentiary documents in three of the articles of impeachment.

Only Article III—which contains the complaints involving bribery, graft and corruption, among others—was finished on the first day of the conference. /mr