Manila: The camp of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte is seeking outright dismissal of the impeachment case because it has no counterevidence to answer the allegations in the Articles of Impeachment, House trial spokesperson and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said Wednesday. In a televised interview, Alonto Adiong said the Vice President's answer was lengthy but ultimately focused on stopping the case instead of meeting the charges at trial.

According to Philippines News Agency, Alonto Adiong elaborated that while the defense's response was voluminous, it aimed primarily at halting the proceedings rather than engaging with the charges substantively. He noted that the defense's core request is for the impeachment court to dispose of the case before the trial can test the evidence.

'Kumbaga kung i-summarize mo, ang gusto lang talaga nila is ma-dismiss 'yung kaso. Wala sa Constitution na mayroong choice ang Senado na i-dismiss ang kaso (If you summarize it, what they really wanted is to dismiss the case. There is nothing in the Constitution that says the Senate has a choice to dismiss the case),' Adiong said. He emphasized that the Constitution mandates the Senate impeachment court to conduct a full trial and reach a judgment, whether to acquit or convict, rather than dismissing the case outright before evidence is presented.

The prosecution panel has countered that the procedural and constitutional objections raised by the defense are not new and have been repeated since the House proceedings. 'It already came out last year, and rehashed lang talaga siya (it's only a rehashed version),' Adiong remarked. He suggested that the defense's push for dismissal indicates a lack of capacity to confront the substance of the impeachment complaint.

'Sa palagay ko (In my own view), the reason why they wanted to dismiss the case, appealing or praying for the court to dismiss the case right away or outright dismissal, it's because they don't have anything to offer as a counterevidence to refute the allegations contained in the Articles of Impeachment,' he added. The House prosecution panel had earlier filed a manifestation instead of a reply, arguing that Duterte's answer, which questioned the impeachment process, did not necessitate a point-by-point response from prosecutors.

The impeachment court is set to proceed to pretrial on June 18 before the trial proper begins in July.