Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte has been impeached by the lower house of Congress after lawmakers, many of whom are allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, signed a petition to remove her from office.
While specifics have not been divulged, the impeachment vote on Wednesday follows a string of complaints accusing Duterte of crimes ranging from the misuse of public funds to plotting Marcos’s assassination. Duterte has consistently denied wrongdoing and has described moves against her as a political vendetta.
“Having been filed by more than one-third of the membership of the House of Representatives, or a total of 215 [out of 306] members, … the motion is approved,” House Speaker Martin Romualdez told lawmakers.
Her fate is now in the hands of 24 senators, two-thirds of whom must vote for her impeachment for her to be removed from office. Although a trial date has not been set, she will remain vice president during the impeachment proceedings.
Duterte is the fourth official in the Philippines to be impeached after former President Joseph Estrada, an ombudsman and a former Supreme Court chief justice.
In the Philippines, top officials may be impeached for culpable violation of the constitution, treason, bribery, corruption, other high crimes or betrayal of public trust.
The House vote comes days before campaigning begins for the midterm elections, widely expected to set the table for the 2028 presidential race.
Marcos had previously urged Congress not to pursue Duterte’s impeachment, calling it a “storm in a teacup” that would distract the legislature from its primary responsibilities.
On Monday, however, Marcos’s executive secretary, Lucas Bersamin, said the Office of the President would “not interfere” with the impeachment complaints.
Former allies turned foes
For years, Duterte was primed to succeed her controversial father, Rodrigo, as president, but she eventually stepped aside to back Marcos, running as vice president on his ticket. Together, they won a landslide victory in 2022.
But the alliance has since imploded, giving way to a months-long public spat that has seen the trading of wild accusations.
In November, Duterte delivered an expletive-laden speech saying she had ordered someone to kill Marcos if she herself was assassinated.
She has accused Marcos and his wife of corruption, weak leadership and trying to muzzle her because of speculation she may seek the presidency in 2028.
Meanwhile, Duterte has been accused of misusing 612.5 million pesos ($10.3m) of public funds, which led to her resignation in June from Marcos’s cabinet, in which she oversaw the Department of Education.
She has also been criticised for her failure to stand up to China in the disputed South China Sea.
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