The Philippine Senate announced Thursday it will transform into an impeachment court on May 18 to begin proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, setting the stage for a high-stakes political showdown between the nation’s most influential families.
Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano confirmed the upper chamber’s 24 members will meet Monday to establish trial procedures and rules, though the actual trial date remains undecided. He delivered this announcement by reading a formal letter to his counterpart in the lower house.
The 47-year-old vice president, once considered the leading candidate to succeed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in 2028, now faces potential removal from office and a prohibition from holding future positions if found guilty. Marcos is constitutionally restricted to serving only one term.
This impeachment represents a dramatic escalation in the ongoing political warfare between supporters of Duterte and those loyal to the 68-year-old Marcos, former allies who have become bitter adversaries.
The charges against Duterte include allegations of improperly spending government money, acquiring wealth through questionable means, and making death threats against Marcos, his spouse, and the previous House speaker. Duterte has rejected all accusations.
The Senate announcement followed Wednesday’s dramatic events when chaos erupted at the heavily secured legislative building. Gunfire broke out and tensions reached a boiling point after a senator supporting Duterte, who had sought sanctuary inside, informed his followers he faced imminent arrest and potential transfer to The Hague’s International Criminal Court.
Monday’s lower house vote overwhelmingly supported the impeachment complaint, which was filed by a coalition of activists, religious organizations, and legal professionals. Duterte’s legal representatives have dismissed the proceedings as a “fishing expedition.”
The vice president’s anger toward Marcos intensified after his congressional supporters subjected her to extensive investigations into suspected financial misconduct within her office over several months.
The former partners have engaged in repeated public confrontations, and their relationship deteriorated so severely that Marcos handed over Duterte’s father and his presidential predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, to the ICC last year. The elder Duterte faces murder charges as crimes against humanity related to his violent anti-drug campaign.
Despite the political drama, Marcos has maintained distance from the impeachment effort, characterizing it as a legislative matter outside his purview.
Sara Duterte spent this week at The Hague supporting her father while her legal team worked on her defense strategy. She directed full responsibility for the country’s political instability toward Marcos, who is commonly called “Bongbong” in the Philippines, accusing him of squandering government resources to “demolish political opposition.”
“Our country is in turmoil, which should not be the case. We are only in turmoil because of Bongbong Marcos,” she stated in comments released through her office.
