Supporters of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte have urged the Supreme Court to dismiss her impeachment, calling it a politically motivated attack.
In a petition filed Tuesday, lawyers supporting Duterte argued that the impeachment—based on charges of corruption and betraying public trust—was pushed through without due process and should be nullified. They also called for the court to block an impending Senate trial that could expel her from office.
“There was no proper deliberation. There was no proper discussion,” said lawyer Israelito Torreon, one of 29 petitioners, outside a venue near the High Court in Manila. “The VP was not even summoned to answer for the alleged allegations … so there was no due process at all.”
Torreon claimed that the impeachment proceedings are likely aimed at disqualifying Duterte from the 2028 presidential race.
Alleged assassination plot, misused funds
Duterte, a one-time ally of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, was impeached by the House of Representatives on February 5 and is to be formally tried in the Senate this summer.
Among the crimes she is accused of is an alleged assassination plot against Marcos. That charge stems from an expletive-laden broadcast in which Duterte claimed to have instructed a man to kill Marcos were she to be killed first. Duterte claims she was simply venting frustration with the administration.
Duterte is also accused of misusing intelligence funds as vice president and as education secretary before she resigned from that position as her alliance with the president crumbled last year. She has not publicly provided a detailed response to the corruption and corruption allegations.
Duterte’s alliance with running mate Marcos quickly frayed after they won the presidential race together in 2022.
While campaigning for senatorial candidates running in the upcoming midterm elections, to be held May 12, Marcos, without naming the Dutertes, has been publicly denouncing the bloody anti-drugs crackdown of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, the vice president’s father.
Last week, Rodrigo Duterte, known for his violent tirades against political opponents – often dismissed as jest – said during a campaign rally that 15 senators should be killed to free up more vacancies for his allies in the midterms. Police filed a criminal complaint with the Department of Justice against the former president over those statements.
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