- Demolition sheriff refuses to be dragged into VP Sara’s impeachment trial
The court sheriff, famously punched by then-Davao City Mayor and now Vice President Sara Duterte, has broken his silence as he appealed to the prosecution team to keep him out of the ongoing impeachment proceedings.
Abe Andres, who now serves as a human resource management officer at the Supreme Court, took to social media to draw a firm line between his professional duties and the intensifying partisan warfare in the capital.
“Please do not involve me in any PARTISAN political matters,” Andres stated in a public announcement on his Facebook account. “I have been appointed in the Supreme Court as a Human Resource Management Officer, a second-level position. It is my position ever since to refuse to comment on the incident when I was holding a first-level position, particularly, Sheriff IV of the Regional Trial Court. The media reports are self-explanatory.”
Andres’ statement comes on the heels of an announcement from the House prosecution panel, which identified him as a vital witness for the upcoming Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Duterte.
Prosecutors intend to utilize Andres to establish a “pattern of violent behavior”—an argument they claim is directly relevant to the specific impeachment article stemming from Duterte’s November 2024 online press conference, where she allegedly made threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The Office of the Vice President has yet to issue an official statement regarding Andres’ public refusal or the prosecution’s latest witness lineup.
The 2011 punching incident
The confrontation between Duterte and Andres occurred in July 2011 and quickly drew nationwide attention. Andres, then working as an RTC Sheriff IV, was enforcing a court-ordered demolition of a shantytown in Davao City.
Duterte, who was serving her first term as mayor, had requested a two-hour reprieve to de-escalate tensions and allow informal settlers more time to clear out. When Andres proceeded with the layout of the demolition crew, an enraged Duterte was captured on live television repeatedly punching the sheriff in the head.
Despite the public assault, Andres chose not to file charges at the time.
The House prosecution panel is building a heavy case around the Vice President’s public conduct. Alongside Andres, the prosecution has lined up witnesses for the same impeachment article, including National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Melvin Matibag, a representative from the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office, and two journalists who directly covered and attended the controversial November 2024 press conference.
