The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte said any alleged bias in the investigation presented during the impeachment trial must ultimately be assessed by the Senate impeachment court, not by either party through the media.

Speaking during a press conference before the fifth day of the trial on Tuesday, July 14, defense spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa said the defense raised questions regarding possible bias because it could affect the credibility of the investigation and its findings.

"Like you said, it goes into bias basically because then now the report is questionable. But whether we were able to establish bias, once again, is not something for us to say in the media because it would be unfair to the other party, to our opposing counsels," Poa said.

He stressed that the defense would not publicly claim victory or assert that it had proven any of its arguments, emphasizing that impeachment proceedings are governed by specific rules and that only the senator-judges can determine the weight of the evidence.

"Ayaw naming nagsasabi na nanalo kami or na-prove namin ito or na-prove namin yan or hindi namin na-prove ito sa media because at the end of the day, and again, I'm really sorry, we're really bound by the rules on impeachment. This will have to really be ultimately based on the appreciation of the impeachment court, the senator judges, kung ano yung na-establish at ano yung hindi," he said.

Poa added that the issue of alleged bias is significant because "bias affects everything that goes on in an investigation," underscoring the defense's position that the impartiality of the investigative process is a key issue in the impeachment proceedings.