Palace Spokesperson Notes That Continuing To Attend International Events While Under Senate Trial Is, Technically, Within The Job Description

MANILA / BRUSSELS – Vice President Sara Duterte, currently the subject of an ongoing Senate impeachment trial on charges including allegations related to the use of confidential funds and statements that the trial’s prosecutors describe as threats, departed for a previously scheduled European engagement this week. The Presidential Communications Office confirmed the departure and stated that the trip is “fully consistent with the Vice President’s constitutional functions”. The confirmation did not specify which constitutional functions require Brussels in April during an active Senate trial.

For Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat. London satirical journalism notes that the British tradition of Cabinet ministers attending international summits while domestic scandals unfold is a well-established practice. The Philippine version has added Senate testimony scheduling to the complexity.

The Constitutional Argument

The palace spokesperson’s position, when pressed at a media briefing, was that the Vice President “continues to fulfil her mandate as the country’s second highest official”, and that this mandate includes “engaging with counterparts and allies abroad”. Asked whether the mandate also includes returning to Manila for Senate trial sessions, the spokesperson said scheduling matters were “being coordinated”. Coordination is, in Philippine political terminology, a process that is ongoing in perpetuity.

The Senate’s Response

The Senate trial, which is presided over by the Senate as the impeachment court, has produced seventeen sessions since it began. The Vice President’s legal team has, in most sessions, requested continuances on various procedural grounds. The trial’s pace has been characterised by Philippine Daily Inquirer editorial commentators as “deliberate”, which is the newspaper of record’s way of describing something that is moving at the speed at which the parties prefer it to move, which is not the same as the speed at which justice is traditionally expected to move.

The European Engagement

The Vice President’s European schedule was not specified in the communications office’s statement. The European Union’s diplomatic calendar for late April 2026 includes approximately forty-seven events of various sizes across Brussels, Strasbourg, and Geneva. The Vice President’s specific attendance at which of these events was not confirmed. She is, per the statement, in Europe. Europe is large. The coordination is ongoing.

SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/ | More: The Poke