Philippine VP Duterte impeached by House amid Senate shake-up

The Philippine House of Representatives impeached Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday with 257 votes out of 316. 

It marks the second impeachment complaint filed against Duterte during her term, with the votes exceeding one-third of the House members, or 106 votes, allowing the articles of impeachment to be transmitted to the Senate for trial.

The impeachment complaints, which were filed by activists and religious groups, centres on her supposed misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth and an alleged assassination plot against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Following this, the Senate must now have a trial “forthwith”, meaning “within reasonable time”, according to the Supreme Court. 

Duterte camp rejects allegations, vows to fight case in Senate

The impeachment is one of the latest blows to the Duterte family, with the previous one being the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court. 

Duterte’s defence said that they had taken note of the House plenary’s decision, adding that it is now up to the complainants to prove their allegations.

“The burden now rests on the accusers to substantiate their claims in accordance with the Constitution, the law, and rules on evidence,” they said, as reported by ABS CBN News.

“While questions of constitutional significance remain pending before the Supreme Court, we are fully prepared to defend the Vice President before the Senate sitting as an Impeachment Court,” they added.

11 members of the House, who will be chosen through a majority vote, will be serving as prosecutors during the impeachment trial. 

The Duterte camp has submitted multiple petitions asking the Supreme Court to halt the impeachment proceedings through a temporary restraining order. 

A fourth petition was also filed by a group of lawyers. 

It claimed that the actions of the House Committee on Justice Chair Gerville Luistro and House Speaker Faustino Dy III allegedly went beyond their constitutional and procedural powers, causing what they described as irreparable harm.

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Sotto ousted as Cayetano takes over Senate presidency

However, before the House’s vote, tensions escalated in the Senate.

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III was ousted, also on Monday, and was replaced by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, who is a Duterte ally. 

As such, he would now be presiding over the impending trial of the vice president as of the five lawyers in the 20th Congress Senate.

In a tweet, Sotto said his Senate leadership has always depended on the support of his fellow lawmakers.

“Rest assured, Senate president or not, my allegiance is to the Constitution and my loyalty is to the Filipino people,” he said, according to an ABS CBN News report. 

Sotto said he believes Duterte’s impeachment issue was among the reasons behind his removal. 

He also stressed that it would be embarrassing for the Senate if no trial were held, adding that they would push for impeachment proceedings to continue.

Cayetano denies new leadership linked to impeachment case

On the other hand, Cayetano said that the reshuffle had nothing to do with the looming impeachment. 

“Before us might be the impeachment. Let it be very clear: There are reports coming out in the news saying that the change in leadership is about the impeachment, but it is not,” Cayetano said in Filipino.

He stated that the impeachment of Duterte will involve “much more than dismissing a complaint because of political affiliation” and “much more than convicting someone without evidence”.

“Both are possible. We need to be guided by the truth and by evidence. But the process is just as important as the result,” he added in both Filipino and English. 

Cayetano also stressed that impeachment should not be used simply because some people believe a president or vice president would perform poorly in office.

“We cannot simply say, ‘She or he will make a bad president, or we can no longer expect anything from the president or vice president, so let’s just impeach them.’ No,” he said.

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VP Duterte latest highest-ranking official impeached since Estrada

Duterte is now one of the highest-ranking Philippine officials to face impeachment since former President Joseph Estrada in 2000. 

Estrada’s impeachment trial at the time was later abandoned after prosecutors staged a walkout, although he resigned days later.

So far, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona remains the only official to have been convicted through an impeachment trial in the country, as three other senior officials who were also impeached had resigned before their trials.

In February, Marcos also survived a second attempt at impeachment, which was rejected by his congressional allies. 

He has distanced himself from the legal proceedings against his vice president, who is a former ally with whom he has since fallen out.

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