Vice President Sara Duterte should personally appear before the impeachment court. 

This is the opinion of the Palace following the start of the second day of the impeachment trial, which the Vice President was still absent from.

"as a filipino and as a lawyer mas maganda yung isang tao naaakusahan ay makaharap niya yung mga witnesses against her"  Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said.

(As a Filipino and as a lawyer, it would be better for a person who is being accused to face the witnesses against her.)

Vice President Sara Duterte briefly appeared at the Senate hours before the start of the second day of the impeachment trial against her. Her stated purpose was to meet with her defense team, and she had no plans to attend the trial.

In the opinion of Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro, as also stated by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., it would be better for the Vice President to personally face the impeachment trial and answer the accusations against her.

"mas maganda kung ako ang lawyer at alam ko na walang mali, malinis, walang pwedeng ikaso sa kaniya, papaharapin ko siya para mapasinungalingan ang mga akusasyon sa kaniya"

(It would be better if I were the lawyer and I knew there was nothing wrong, that she was clean, that there was nothing that could be filed against her — I would have her face it to disprove the accusations against her.)

In her own statement regarding personally facing the trial, VP Sara said the opinion of a president holds no value in impeachment proceedings. She said that impeachment proceedings should be guided by the Constitution and due process.

The respondent, she said, has the right to be represented by counsel during the trial, and the decision to testify personally is a matter of legal strategy and constitutional rights.

Asked whether the President is monitoring the proceedings of the impeachment trial, the Palace responded:

"when you say monitoring nakatutok sa nanunuod hindi naman ganun, maraming trabaho ang pangulo definetly malalaman naman niya yung mga balita"

(When you say monitoring, as in being glued to watching it, it's not really like that — the President has a lot of work, but he will definitely know about the news.)

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