Sara Duterte, Philippines' vice president, gestures as she speaks during a news conference in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, the Philippines, on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. Duterte said her lawyers are preparing to fight the impeachment case, signaling she’s ready to defend herself as her feud with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. intensifies. -- Photographer: Lisa Marie David/Bloomberg
MANILA, Philippines (AP): Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte said Friday that her lawyers were preparing for a legal battle in her upcoming impeachment trial but refused to say if resignation was an option so she could preempt a possible conviction that would bar her from running for president in the future.
Duterte was speaking for the first time since the House of Representatives impeached her Wednesday on a raft of criminal charges, including plotting to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assassinated, which she again denied. Marcos was her running mate in the 2022 elections but they have had a bitter falling out.
