The House of Representatives in the Philippines voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday over unexplained wealth and threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. This marks a major setback for Duterte, who intended to run for president in 2028.
The House, consisting majorly of Marcos’ allies, voted 257-25 with nine abstentions. Duterte currently has two impeachment complaints which will be moved to the Senate for a trial.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who had pushed for an immediate trial of Duterte, was also removed by 13 of 24 senators, shortly before the impeachment. The voters included supporters of Duterte and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The Philippine National Police and Interpol had arrested and detained Rodrigo Duterte in Netherlands last year under charges of crimes against humanity. The charges were linked to the killings during the anti-drugs crackdown he had imposed while in office.
Vice President Duterte has consistently denied any wrongdoing without expanding on her criminal allegations. Her lawyers released a statement on Monday, saying they were ready to defend her in a trial.
“While questions of constitutional significance remain pending before the Supreme Court, we are fully prepared to defend the vice president before the Senate,” said the lawyers “it is incumbent upon the prosecution to discharge the burden of proof.”
Duterte has been a frequent critic of President Marcos, accusing him, his wife and his cousin, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, of corruption, weak leadership, and trying to silence her due to her presidential ambitions.
The House had also impeached her last year but the bid was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court after a successful petition by Duterte.
According to Rep. Gerville Luistro of the House Justice Committee, criminal allegations against Duterte include undeclared bank transactions of large amounts and misuse of confidential funds of her office as vice president and as education secretary.
Luistro also referred to threats made by Duterte during an online news conference in 2024 to have an assassin kill Marcos, his wife, and Romualdez if she was ever assassinated. She had also warned that the threat wasn’t a joke. Duterte later retracted the statement, claiming she was expressing concern for her own safety. However, the threat subsequently set off criminal investigation and national security concerns.
Rep. Leila de Lima said, “These are matters that go into the integrity and accountability and fitness of a public official occupying the second highest position in our government.”
Independent surveys show that Sara Duterte remain popular despite the allegations and impeachment. She and Marcos were running mates in the 2022 elections before their falling out. She had accused Marcos of allowing the International Criminal Court to “kidnap” her father in violation of Filipino laws.
