Philippines House Formally Implements Sara Duterte’s Impeachment Motion

Philippine politics reaches a boiling point as the house of representatives moves to impeach vice president sara duterte over allegations of fund misuse

On May 11, Philippine lawmakers voted to put into effect Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment, setting the stage for a showdown in the Senate that could potentially stall her hopes of running for the office of President in 2028. An impeachment complaint leveled accusations of her misusing public funds, amassing unexplained wealth, and threatening the safety and security of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife, and the former House speaker, an allegation Duterte vehemently denies. A motley of 257 lawmakers lent support to the complaint lodged by activists, religious groups, and lawyers, thereby easily surpassing the required one-third majority in terms of total seats to pass a motion. Only 25 lawmakers voted against it, while nine abstained from voting.

Duterte’s former ally but present adversary, Marcos, is limited by the constitution to a single term in office, paving the way for her to emerge as a clear favorite to succeed him in 2028 until now. She faces removal from office and a ban from political life if the jury comprising Senate members finds her guilty of wrongdoing during the upcoming trial. Duterte’s legal team said in a statement, “We are fully prepared to defend the Vice President before the Senate sitting as an impeachment court, where it is incumbent upon the prosecution to discharge the burden of proof.”

Duterte Family in the Spotlight

The influential Duterte family has had to cope with a series of setbacks of late, with the impeachment being the latest entrant to the list. The Vice President’s father, Rodrigo Duterte, is currently awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court over his “war on drugs” that led to thousands of lives being lost during his 2016-2022 presidential tenure. Importantly, the latest impeachment bid follows a similar attempt by the House last year that was eventually struck down by the country’s Supreme Court over a procedural flaw.

However, in a development that can favor Duterte, a motion was passed in the Senate to replace the president of the lower house with Alan Peter Cayetano, a staunch family loyalist. This effectively means that Cayetano would be the presiding judge in Duterte’s impeachment trial.

Opposition Claims Clinching Evidence Against Duterte

Significantly, President Marcos was subjected to a separate impeachment bid in February and survived the motion after his allies in Congress voted to dismiss it. The roads leading to the Congress were filled with demonstrators chanting and holding banners saying “Impeach Sara Now” on Monday. Lawmakers pointed to two primary reasons as dictating their move to pass an impeachment motion against Duterte:

• The need to uphold conscience and duty for the country’s future, and

• For Filipinos to witness the upholding of the rule of law through a fair, impartial trial

According to CIO Bulletin, this development will be keenly watched by everyone, given its potential to exacerbate the Philippines’ political crisis while shaping its future trajectory.