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ICYMI: PH House Impeaches VP Sara Duterte, Sends Case to Senate
Layout by Keith Candice Diño
The Philippine House of Representatives voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte, approving the transmission of the impeachment articles against her to the Senate for trial, May 11.
A total of 257 lawmakers voted in favor of the impeachment complaints, while 25 opposed and nine abstained, exceeding the constitutional condition of one-third of House members required to elevate the case to the Senate.
Under the 1987 Constitution, the impeachment required the support of at least one-third of all members of the House, equivalent to 106 lawmakers from the current membership.
The impeachment complaint was previously endorsed by the House Committee on Justice after lawmakers determined that there was “probable cause” to move forward with the case.
The impeachment complaints accuse Ms. Duterte of alleged misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, and issuing threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The Senate is expected to convene as an impeachment court in the coming weeks. If convicted, Ms. Duterte could be removed from office and permanently barred from holding public office.
Meanwhile, a motion was approved to remove the Senate president and replace Vicente Castelo Sotto III with Alan Peter Cayetano.
The change in Senate leadership means that Mr. Cayetano, a former running mate of Rodrigo Duterte, would serve as the presiding judge in Ms. Duterte’s impeachment trial.
This marks the second impeachment attempt against Ms. Duterte. In 2025, the Supreme Court voided the earlier impeachment case before the Senate trial could begin, ruling that the complaint was unconstitutional.
The Court said the case violated the Constitution’s “one-year bar rule,” which prohibits multiple impeachment proceedings against the same official within a one-year period. However, new impeachment complaints were refiled in 2026 after the constitutional restriction had expired.
