Philippine parliament start vote on Sara Duterte’s impeachment bid

If more than one third of the lower house backs her impeachment, the ‌Senate will be required to convene a trial with its members as jurors

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Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte delivers a statement following her impeachment by the lower house on February 7, 2025. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:22pm, 11 May 2026Updated: 4:53pm, 11 May 2026

Lawmakers in the Philippines started voting on Monday on whether to impeach Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, in what could create a major hurdle for her bid to run for the presidency in 2028.

A house justice committee last month found probable cause for her impeachment in ‌a petition from activists accusing her of misusing public funds, accumulating unexplained wealth and of threatening the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, his wife and the former house speaker.

With ally-turned-enemy Marcos limited by the constitution to a single term in office, Duterte-Carpio is the clear favourite to succeed him in 2028. She has apologised for helping bring Marcos to power in 2022, after they ran on a joint ticket and won separate elections in ⁠landslides.

Duterte-Carpio denies wrongdoing and her legal team has described the petition as defective and a “fishing expedition”.

Protesters shout slogans during a rally calling for the impeachment of Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio outside the House of Representatives in Quezon City on Monday. Photo: AP

If more than one third of the lower house backs her impeachment, the ‌Senate will be required to convene a trial with its members as jurors. Duterte-Carpio faces removal from ⁠office and a ban ⁠from politics if convicted.

Dutertes under pressure

The impeachment effort is the latest in a series of setbacks for the influential Duterte family, with the vice ‌president feeling constant heat from her bitter feud with Marcos, and father Rodrigo Duterte awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court over a war on drugs that ‌killed ‌thousands of people during his 2016-2022 presidency.

Philippine parliament start vote on Sara Duterte’s impeachment bid

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}If more than one third of the lower house backs her impeachment, the ‌Senate will be required to convene a trial with its members as jurors

Dutertes under pressure

If more than one third of the lower house backs her impeachment, the ‌Senate will be required to convene a trial with its members as jurors