Malacañang said on Wednesday that the public is expecting Vice President Sara Duterte to personally address the allegations against her, rather than relying solely on legal arguments, following her appearance at the Senate ahead of the opening of her impeachment trial.

During a Palace press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro commented on Duterte's remarks after the Vice President quoted a line from William Ernest Henley's poem Invictus, saying, “In this bloodbath, in this bludgeoning, I will be bloodied but unbowed.”

Castro said it was notable that Duterte cited the literary work as the basis for her statement.\

“Ating nadinig at napanood na sinabi niyang ‘In this bloodbath, in this bludgeoning, I will be bloodied but unbowed.’ So, meron siya naging basihan at nakita natin ito sa social media—mula kay William Ernest Henley ng Invictus. Kinatuwa natin na sa ngayon ay may nagiging basehan na si Vice Presidente ng kanyang mga sinasabi,” Castro said.

The Palace official added that while Duterte may believe the impeachment proceedings would be a "bloodbath," it was the Vice President herself who had previously expressed a desire for such a political confrontation.

Castro also noted that despite Duterte's brief appearance at the Senate, she did not directly deny the accusations against her.

“Sa kanyang maiksing salita kahapon, wala pa rin tayong nadinig na pagtanggi sa mga akusasyon na ibinabato sa kanya. Hinahayaan na lamang niya ang abogado niya at ito naman ang malamang na kanilang strategy,” she said.

She acknowledged that Duterte's presence was not yet required during Tuesday's proceedings, but said the public would likely prefer to hear the Vice President personally refute the allegations instead of relying on what she described as "technicalities" in her legal defense.

Asked whether Malacañang agreed with Duterte's characterization of the impeachment trial as a "bloodbath" and "bludgeoning," Castro said everyone is entitled to their opinion but stressed that the truth must come out during the proceedings.

“Kung iyon po ang kanyang iniisip at kanyang opinion, hindi naman natin siya mapapahinto sa kanyang pagsasalita patungkol dito. Magiging madugo talaga ito kung hindi makikita ng taong-bayan ang katotohanan. Iyan naman ang hinahanap ng ating mga kababayan—malaman kung ano ba talaga ang mga katotohanan sa mga ibinabato sa kanya,” Castro said.