Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte Faces Second Impeachment Trial

The Philippine House of Representatives has voted to impeach Vice-President Sara Duterte for the second time. This decision marks a major moment in the country's politics and creates a difficult challenge for her plans to run for president in 2028. The impeachment process will now move to the Senate, which will act as a court to decide her future. If the Senate finds her guilty, she will be removed from her position and will be unable to hold public office in the future.

According to BBC News, the case against the 47-year-old vice-president includes several serious claims. These include the alleged misuse of public money, bribery, and having unexplained wealth. Furthermore, the impeachment articles mention public threats made against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife, and the former House speaker, Martin Romualdez. These threats reportedly occurred during a late-night online press conference. During that event, Duterte stated that she had hired an assassin to kill the President and his family if she herself were killed. She later claimed that her words were misinterpreted and that she was only expressing concern for her own safety.

This is the second time that the House has moved to impeach Duterte. A similar attempt occurred in 2025, but the Supreme Court stopped the process on a technicality—a rule-based mistake—before it could reach the Senate. This time, the House committee ruled that there was enough evidence to move forward. As reported by DW, 257 lawmakers voted in favor of the impeachment, which was well above the required number. Representative Bienvenido Abante stated that the vote was about duty and the belief that no person is above the law.

Sara Duterte has strongly denied any wrongdoing. In a formal response, she described the case as nothing more than a "scrap of paper." Her legal team has stated that the burden of proof—the responsibility to provide evidence—now rests on those who are accusing her. They added that they are fully prepared to defend the Vice-President during the upcoming Senate trial.

The political situation in the Philippines is complex. The House of Representatives is currently dominated by allies of President Marcos. However, the Senate is a different environment. According to The Guardian, the Senate is a traditional place for politicians who hope to run for higher office in the future. In the 2025 mid-term elections, candidates who were allied with the Duterte family performed better than expected. This suggests that Sara Duterte may have stronger support in the Senate than she does in the House.

To remove the Vice-President from office, two-thirds of the 24 senators must vote for a conviction. Because of this high requirement, analysts believe the final result is difficult to predict. The Senate also recently elected Alan Peter Cayetano as its new president. Cayetano is a long-time ally of the Duterte family, though he has denied that his new role is connected to the ongoing impeachment case.

This political conflict highlights the growing distance between the President and the Vice-President. The two leaders ran together in the 2022 election and won by a large margin. However, their relationship has since broken down as they pursued different political goals. The situation is further complicated by the legal troubles of Sara Duterte’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte. He is currently being held by the International Criminal Court—a global court that handles the most serious crimes—to face trial for his "war on drugs" campaign, which resulted in thousands of deaths.

As the country waits for the Senate trial to begin, the political future of the Philippines remains unclear. Sara Duterte currently leads in early surveys for the 2028 presidential election, and her family remains a powerful force in the nation. Whether this impeachment will end her political career or simply become another chapter in a long-standing power struggle is a question that only the Senate can answer. For now, both sides are preparing for a difficult legal battle that will test the strength of the country's political institutions.