Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte was impeached for the second time on Monday by the House of Representatives, in a case that could derail her plans to run for president in 2028.
Duterte, the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who is now detained and facing trial in the International Criminal Court, is accused of misusing public funds, amassing unexplained wealth and threatening the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his wife.
She was impeached on the same grounds in 2025, but the Supreme Court declared that the process violated a rule that prohibits the filing of more than one impeachment complaint against the same official within a year.
In Monday’s vote, a total of 255 lawmakers of the 316-member house voted to impeach Duterte, while 26 voted against it and nine abstained.
The complaint against her will be forwarded to the Senate, which would convene as an impeachment court to try Duterte in one to two weeks. Delays are expected after a new Senate president was elected on Monday, hours after the impeachment vote at the house.
Duterte has criticized the impeachment charges against her as political persecution, aimed at threatening her chances in the 2028 presidential elections.
In a statement, Duterte’s legal team said it was prepared to defend the vice president.
"The burden now rests on the accusers to substantiate their claims in accordance with the Constitution, the law, and rules on evidence," it added.
A conviction in the Senate would not only remove Duterte from office but also permanently disqualify her from holding any public office, effectively ending her 2028 ambitions.
Analysts have noted that even an acquittal could leave her politically bruised after months of a televised trial.
Duterte and Marcos ran as a team in the 2022 elections. But cracks in their alliance started to show as early as 2023 over disagreements in policies, and became more apparent when Duterte resigned from the Cabinet in June 2024.
