Philippines House of Representatives impeaches Vice President Sara Duterte over corruption charges World News

The Philippine House of Representatives votes to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte for the second time (Image: AP)

The Philippines’ House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Monday to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte on charges of graft, corruption, bribery, misuse of state funds and an alleged assassination threat against Ferdinand Marcos Jr., casting doubt on her announced 2028 presidential bid.The House of Representatives, dominated by Marcos allies, voted 255 to 26, with nine abstentions, to send the impeachment complaint to the Senate, which will serve as the tribunal for her trial. If convicted, Duterte would be removed from office and banned from holding elected office for life.The vice president, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, has generally denied any wrongdoing but did not elaborate on the criminal charges.

Duterte ally elected Senate president minutes before vote

In a major development minutes before the House vote, the Senate elected Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, a long-time ally of Vice President Duterte, as the new president. Cayetano, who served as foreign affairs minister under former President Rodrigo Duterte, replaced Vicente Sotto III in a 13-9 vote with two abstentions.Changes in Senate leadership could play a crucial role in the outcome of the impeachment trial. Cayetano denied any connection between his election and the House vote.“I wouldn’t blame you if you said the change in leadership was due to impeachment. That’s not the case,” he said immediately after the Senate vote.

what happens next

One of the most serious allegations in the complaint includes more than $110 million in private banking transactions flagged by the anti-money laundering agency.“The magnitude of these transactions cannot be reasonably explained by the couple’s legitimate income, declared assets, or business and professional activities,” Rep. Terry Reardon, one of the lead complainants, said in a statement.The articles of impeachment also accuse Duterte of making assassination threats against Marcos, his wife Lisa Araneta and former House Speaker Martin Romualz.Under the Philippine constitution, impeachment would trigger a trial in the Senate, which would require a two-thirds majority to convict and remove her from office. A guilty verdict would also disqualify her from holding any government office.The previous impeachment motion against Duterte was passed by the House of Representatives with 215 votes in 2025, but was later blocked by the Supreme Court due to constitutional technical issues.Duterte and Marcos ran as candidates in the 2022 elections, but their political alliance later collapsed, leading to a bitter schism. Duterte has announced his intention to run for president in 2028.On May 7, Duterte said that regardless of the outcome of the impeachment, “it was written by God.”“Based on our previous discussion with former President Duterte, everything that happens in a person’s life is written by God. So, if I am impeached, it is written by God. If I am not impeached, see you tomorrow,” she told supporters after visiting her father in The Hague, where he is facing trial at the International Criminal Court over the deadly “war on drugs.”