Sara Duterte Impeachment Update: House Passes 257-25 Vote
Philippine lawmakers advanced the sara duterte impeachment update on Monday, voting 257-25 with nine abstentions to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte over alleged unexplained wealth and threats to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assassinated. The move sends the two impeachment complaints to the Senate for a trial.
House Vote in Manila
The Philippine House of Representatives took the vote in Manila, where it is dominated by allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. That majority delivered the complaint past the chamber, turning a political fight inside the House into a case that now depends on senators.
House Justice Committee chair Gerville Luistro said the impeachment complaints included several criminal allegations, including huge bank transactions over the years. The vote gives those accusations a formal path into the Senate, where the trial can test whether the complaints have enough support to move beyond the lower chamber.
Senate Power Shift
Shortly before the House vote on Monday, Senate President Vicente Sotto III was ousted by 13 of 24 senators. Sotto had vowed to immediately put the vice president to trial, so the leadership change introduces a new layer to the process already moving out of the House.
Senator Roland dela Rosa suddenly appeared in the Senate after months of absence, and National Bureau of Investigation officers tried to run after him but failed to reach him as he dashed into the Senate's plenary hall. The moment showed how quickly the political ground around the impeachment shifted even before the Senate received the complaints.
Sara Duterte's Second Impeachment
This was not Duterte's first impeachment fight. The House impeached her last year, but the Supreme Court later declared that bid unconstitutional on a technicality, keeping her in office. Her father, Rodrigo Duterte, was arrested in March last year and put on trial in the Netherlands on charges of crimes against humanity tied to deadly anti-drugs crackdowns while he was in office.
The new House vote places Sara Duterte under a second impeachment process while she has repeatedly accused Marcos, his wife, and his cousin Martin Romualdez of corruption, weak leadership, and trying to muzzle her. It also lands as an initial setback to her plan to seek the presidency in 2028, with the Senate now holding the next decisive stage of the case.
