Vice President Sara Duterte said that she will accept whatever happens in the Senate impeachment proceedings against her.

"I don't have expectations of an acquittal or a guilty verdict. For me, I already accepted the verdict whether it is guilty or an acquittal. I'm already at peace", Duterte told reporters in an ambush interview after attending a thanksgiving mass in Davao City on Saturday.

Duterte said that the preparation of her legal team for the impeachment are "full throttle" but they refuse to undergo trial.

"Of course they would not want a trial. As lawyers, we know how lawyers work. They know various ways of using the law as a legal recourse for their clients but I told them, really, I truly want a trial because I really want a bloodbath", Duterte said.

On Saturday the Commission on Elections (Comelec) formally proclaimed 12 winning senators of the 2025 midterm polls. Among the winners, endorsed by Duterte, were senators-elect Bong Go, Bato dela Rosa, Rodante Marcoleta, Camille Villar, and Imee Marcos.

On June 2, Congress resumes, with the Senate preparing for the impeachment court. The impeachment proceedings will start late July.

In the elections, Duterte's PDP-Laban and the administration's Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas tied with five seats instead of earlier survey projections showing Alyansa getting eight seats.

However, Duterte said that it is too early to start counting the votes of the senators on the impeachment case.

It will be recalled that Duterte sought the nod of the Supreme Court to invalidate the Senate impeachment trial.

"I don't know how the senators will vote. If at all there will be a trial, I think it is wrong to start counting votes now because they haven't seen evidence yet. They haven't seen what the prosecutors have, (and) they haven't seen what our defense is. So for me it is wrong to count votes without a trial", Duterte added.

Meanwhile, in a statement on Sunday, former Senator and Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Partylist Representative-elect Leila De Lima said "in an impeachment trial there can be no bloodbath. If any blood is spilled, it can only be that of the person impeached".

"To stress, an impeachment trial is not a show of brute force but a sacrosanct constitutional process of accountability", De Lima added.

Akbayan Partylist Representative-elect Chiel Diokno, who was also offered by Speaker Martin Romualdez to join the House prosecution team, told the Philippine Star Youtube channel, the impeachment is ''really going to be a battle for public opinion at the same time that a court battle that evidence is going to be presented effectively and persuasively.''

It can be recalled that De Lima and Akbayan Partylist Representative-elect Chel Dionko have accepted House Speaker Martin Romualdez's invitation on Wednesday to join the 11-man House Prosecution Panel for the coming impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte. Marie Manalili/DMS