A Facebook post claims that the House prosecution panel will add a new charge against Vice President Sara Duterte amid the ongoing impeachment trial. This is false.
On Oct. 4, an FB page posted a graphic featuring a photo of the prosecution team and Duterte with the text:
“NEWS UPDATE!
PROSECUTION, POSIBLENG MAGHAIN ULIT NG PANIBAGONG KASO LABAN KAY VP SARA (might file new charge against VP Sara)!”
The erroneous post is contrary to what members of the panel told media the day after announcing that they were considering dropping Article 3, the bribery charge, in their impeachment complaint.
House prosecutor Joel Chua said their team believed the evidence presented under the three other articles was already sufficient. He added the proposed move was intended to shorten the trial and keep it from extending to 2027.
In an Oct. 5 press conference, House lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro said the prosecution is seriously considering dropping Article 3, but has yet to formalize this. Speaking to media about dropping the bribery case, she said:
“I wish to confirm what the other members of the prosecution said, that there are serious inclinations [to drop the bribery charge]. But the fact that we are not yet manifesting it formally before the impeachment court only means that the prosecution is not yet ready to officially withdraw this Article,” Luistro said.
The false post appeared as the impeachment trial began tackling the ill-gotten wealth charge against Duterte with the prosecution presenting Anti-Money Laundering Council Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura.
Published by FB page BBM Youth (created June 17, 2026), the post has garnered more than 3,100 reactions, 750 comments and 40 shares, as of writing. The page, with over 570,000 followers, has changed its name seven times since its creation.
