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Philippine VP Sara Duterte impeached but Senate trial delayed after leadership coup
The leadership change could prove critical as the Senate leader presides over the trial of an impeached vice-president
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Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio was impeached for the second time by the House of Representatives on Monday, but her immediate Senate trial was thrown into uncertainty after a surprise leadership coup in the upper chamber.
Analysts told This Week in Asia that the “razor-thin” majority of Alan Peter Cayetano – the newly installed Senate president and a long-time Duterte ally – could set off another Senate coup and even reinstate Vicente Sotto III, the ousted Senate leader who had made clear he wanted the chamber to convene as an impeachment court soon after the House transmitted the articles of impeachment.
The House voted overwhelmingly to impeach Duterte-Carpio, sending the case to the Senate for trial over allegations involving the misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery and corruption, as well as threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former speaker Martin Romualdez.
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The leadership change could prove critical as the Senate leader presides over the trial of an impeached vice-president.
If convicted, Duterte-Carpio could be removed from office and barred from holding public office, potentially ending an expected run for the presidency in 2028.
Duterte-Carpio, the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, was once a key ally of Marcos, but their political alliance has collapsed in a bitter feud that has split two of the Philippines’ most powerful families.
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