Philippine lawmakers advance impeachment of Vice-President Sara Duterte

[MANILA] Philippine lawmakers ordered Vice-President Sara Duterte on Wednesday (Mar 4) to respond to the impeachment complaints against her.

This comes after the lawmakers found substance to allegations involving unexplained wealth, the misuse of public funds, and her making public threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte is seen as a frontrunner for the 2028 presidential election and has said that she would run for the top post.

She survived a similar impeachment bid in 2025, which the Supreme Court struck down for violating constitutional safeguards.

If convicted by the Senate at trial, Sara Duterte would be removed from office and disqualified from holding any future government position.

Wednesday’s vote in the House of Representatives’ justice committee comes amid a bitter falling out between the president and vice-president, both scions of powerful political families, who swept to power in 2022 before becoming rivals.

Sara Duterte’s defence team said that it will weigh the congressional committee’s vote.

“For now, we will refrain from discussing the substance of the case in the media and will instead address these matters through the proper constitutional processes,” it added.

Before any vote on whether an impeachment trial should go ahead, the House will consider Sara Duterte’s response to the charges, if she makes one, as well as any reply from the complainants.

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The complaints against her include the misuse of confidential funds, bribery and unexplained wealth, and publicly threatening to have Marcos killed, along with his wife and a cousin who was the House speaker at the time.

“This is a very good development that the process of accountability is now moving,” said Representative Leila de Lima. De Lima endorsed one of the complaints against Sara Duterte.

Four impeachment complaints were initially lodged, but one was dismissed over a rule that prohibits such complaints from being filed within a year after previously being submitted. Another complaint was withdrawn to speed up the proceedings and because it was similar to another complaint.

Marcos survived a separate impeachment bid against him in February, after his allies in Congress voted to dismiss it. REUTERS