Catholic clergy ask prayers for prosecutors ahead of Sara Duterte's impeachment trial

The Catholic clergy held a mass for House prosecutors on Thursday ahead of next week's impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Organized by the Clergy for Good Governance, the "Holy Mass for Truth, Justice, and Accountability" was held at the Chapel of the Nativity of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cubao.

“Hindi po madali ang tumayo sa harap ng impeachment court. Hindi po madali na maging sentro ng ibat-ibang opinion kaugnay ng impeachment process na ito. Nevertheless, we believe that there is honor to be at the forefront of this accountability mechanism,” said lead impeachment prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro.

(It is not easy to stand before the impeachment court. It is not easy to be at the center of various opinions regarding this impeachment process.)

“There is glory in defending the interests of the Filipino people. There is fulfillment to be at the forefront in upholding what the Constitution mandates," she added.

"Let us pray harder, let us pray hardest. Please walk with us until the conclusion of this impeachment trial and join us as we pray for the conviction of the respondent in this impeachment trial.”

House prosecution team receives blessing from Catholic priests ahead of VP Duterte's impeachment trial which starts on July 6 @gmanews pic.twitter.com/0WEMbrjiff

— Llanesca T. Panti (@llanescajourno) July 2, 2026

'Courage'

Msgr. Mel David of Parañaque, for his part, said that the House prosecution team will be the voice of God in presenting to the Senator-judges the truth.

“The whole Filipino people is looking up to you. Gampanan ninyo ng buong tapang, ngunit tapang na hindi nanggagaling sa ibuturan lamang ng inyong puso, kundi katapangan na nagmumula sa puso ng ating Panginoon,” David said.

(Carry out your task with great courage—not a courage that springs merely from the depths of your own hearts, but a courage that flows from the heart of our Lord.)

“It is the heart that constantly beats for love of the poor, for love of the truth, for love of justice, for love of peace. You will be the voice of God addressing the Filipino people to rise up and walk through a courageous and truthful presentation of evidence that will finally bring darkness at the back of our human history and bring light to the life of the Filipino people,” he added.

GMA News Online has sought comment from the Duterte camp, but it has yet to reply as of posting time.

Photo by Tina Panganiban-Perez/ GMA News

The Articles of Impeachment approved by the House for Senate action accuses the Vice President of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, bribery and other high crimes, based on the following acts:

a) systematic misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of confidential funds amounting to P500 million released to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million released to the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure as Education chief

b) amassing unexplained wealth manifestly disproportionate to her lawful income and earnings during her incumbency as a public official

c) failure to fully and truthfully disclose all her and her spouse's assets, liabilities, and net worth in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) including in her SALN for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024;

d) failure to divest, and instead, willfully continued, all her business interests during her tenure as vice president for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025

e) giving monetary gifts or payments to DepEd officials to induce the violation and circumvention of procurement and other related laws.

f) contracting for the assassination of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former Speaker of the House and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, by making grave threats, and by actively inciting sedition against the republic.

Items a, e and f constitute Article 1, 3 and 4, while items b, c and d are all subsections of Article 2 of the Articles of Impeachment.

The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte is set to begin by July 6.

Freedom of expression

Duterte's camp invoked freedom of expression, the confidentiality of bank records and Anti-Money Laundering Council reports, and the lack of sufficient evidence in answering the four articles of impeachment against her.

Duterte's camp replied to the impeachment articles in a document dated May 25, 2026.

"[It] is respectfully prayed that the articles of impeachment be dismissed for the reasons cited and discussed above and for failing to meet the constitutional requirements of an impeachment proceeding," the reply document read.

It added that there was also no proof that “the respondent actually contracted an assassin to kill the President, the First Lady, and the former Speaker of the House.” —VAL, GMA News