The House of Representatives in the Philippines on Wednesday impeached Vice President Sara Duterte after a significant number of legislators, more than required, signed a petition to remove her from office. In a plenary meeting of the lower chamber of Congress, the House of Representatives Secretary General Reginald Velasco said that at least 215 lawmakers signed a petition to impeach Duterte. The impeachment complaint now stands with the Senate, which will serve as an impeachment tribunal that would try the vice president, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Notably, the vice president and her father have been politically at odds with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Why is she facing impechment complaints?
Sara Duterte, who is regarded as the next possible presidential candidate after Marcos’s term gets over in 2028, has faced at least four impeachment complaints lodged by several legislators and left-wing activist groups over a range of issues.
The issues that became the reason for her impeachment include the death threat she made against the president, his wife, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez last year. Other notable issues are irregularities in the use of her office’s intelligence funds and her failure to stand up to Chinese aggression in the disputed South China Sea.
The latest impeachment complaint, which accuses her of betraying the public trust, violating the Constitution, corruption, and other high crimes, and signed by the 215 legislators, would be sent to the Senate for her trial, according to legislators.
However, the efforts to impeach the vice president may be hampered by a lack of time since the House impeachment came on the last day of the congressional session before campaigning begins for midterm elections in May. The mid-term elections will see the new legislators in the House and Senate. A special session is likely to be called to allow the Senate to bring Duterte to a rapid trial.
President Marcos and Vice President Duterte differ on several issues
Marcos and Duterte, who won landslide victories as running mates in the 2022 election, differ in their approaches to China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. Their view also doesn’t match the deadly anti-drug crackdown conducted by Duterte’s father.
Importantly, the two offices are elected separately in the Philippines, which has resulted in rivals occupying the country’s top political posts.
(With inputs from AP)
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