{
  "id": 19151218,
  "title": "Lawyers for Philippine VP Duterte open defence in high-stakes trial",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/lawyers-for-philippine-vp-duterte-open-defence-in-high-stakes-trial",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-09T11:11:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/11/09/lawyers-for-philippine-vp-duterte-open-defence-in-high-stakes-trial"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "MANILA: Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte's legal team initiated her defence on Monday in a high-stakes impeachment trial, aiming to counter allegations that she amassed unexplained wealth. Sara Duterte, daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, is currently the front-runner in polls for the 2028 presidential election. To survive the impeachment proceedings, she needs support from at least one-third of the senators in the impeachment court. The trial has narrowed down to allegations that she held wealth beyond what her declared income and assets could explain, after the prosecution withdrew three other charges from the impeachment complaint.\n\nThe defence opened the trial by calling their first witness, Jaime Adalin, an assessor from Sara Duterte's hometown of Davao City. Adalin testified about tax declarations and assessment records that supported the defence's claim that a property linked to Sara Duterte was listed in her 2024 statement of assets and liabilities. The defence plans to call several more witnesses, including accountants, bankers, and corporate counsel for companies linked to Sara Duterte, with the goal of concluding the trial by the end of the year.\n\nForensic financial analyst, who testified for the prosecution, estimated that Sara Duterte holds over 800 million pesos (US$12.70 million) in unexplained assets, including remittances from entities in China and Hong Kong. Sara Duterte has maintained her innocence throughout the trial, calling the proceedings \"political harassment\" and has not appeared in court since the trial began in July, except for a brief appearance on the second day. Her defence spokesperson, Michael Poa, stated that it is too early to confirm whether Sara Duterte will testify. The impeachment trial marks a significant escalation in the political conflict between Sara Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who were previously close allies during their joint 2022 election campaign. President Marcos, who is limited to one term in office, has deemed the impeachment a legislative matter. In a separate criminal case, Sara Duterte faces three counts of grave threats for comments she made regarding the president, first lady, and a former House speaker. She denies all charges.",
  "summary": "Sara Duterte's lawyers opened her impeachment defence, contesting claims of unexplained wealth that threaten her presidential ambitions.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Lawyers for Philippine VP Duterte open defence in high-stakes trial",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/lawyers-for-philippine-vp-duterte-open-defence-in-high-stakes-trial-19153754",
        "published": "2026-11-09T12:24:56.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}