MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine House of Representatives initiated impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday, citing various alleged offenses, including an alleged plot to assassinate the president, widespread corruption, and a perceived failure to strongly condemn China’s aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea.
This action by House Representatives, many of whom are allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., exacerbates the existing political tensions between the country’s two highest-ranking officials in one of Asia’s most politically dynamic democracies.
While President Marcos has strengthened defense ties with the United States, Vice President Duterte’s father, Rodrigo Duterte, cultivated closer relationships with China and Russia during his presidency, which ended in 2022.
At least 215 representatives signed the impeachment complaint, exceeding the necessary number to swiftly forward the petition to the Senate, which will act as the impeachment court, according to House Secretary-General Reginald Velasco’s announcement during the House’s final session before a four-month recess.
Signatories include the president’s son, Representative Sandro Marcos, and cousin, Representative Martin Romualdez. The petition calls for the Senate to convict the vice president, remove her from office, and bar her from future public service.
The complaint alleges that Vice President Duterte’s actions demonstrate “gross betrayal of public trust and tyrannical abuse of power,” rendering her unfit for public office and violating the 1987 Constitution.
While the vice president hasn’t yet responded, her brother, Representative Paolo Duterte, termed the impeachment a “clear act of political persecution,” claiming rival lawmakers hastily gathered signatures to advance a “baseless impeachment case.”
Duterte ran as Marcos’s vice-presidential running mate in 2022, campaigning on a message of unity in a deeply divided nation. Both, coming from powerful political families, secured landslide victories due to their strong regional support bases.
President Marcos is the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who was ousted in a 1986 pro-democracy revolution. Vice President Duterte’s father initiated a brutal anti-drug campaign, currently under investigation by the International Criminal Court as a potential crime against humanity.
The post-election political alliance between Marcos and Duterte quickly deteriorated.
The impeachment complaint, filed against the vice president—a potential presidential candidate in 2028—centers on an alleged death threat against the president, his wife, and the House speaker; irregularities in the use of her office’s intelligence funds; and her perceived insufficient response to Chinese aggression in the disputed waters.
In a November 23 online press conference, she stated she had hired an assassin to kill Marcos, his wife, and Romualdez should she be killed, emphasizing it was not a joke. She later retracted the threat, claiming it was a statement about her safety concerns. Nevertheless, her comments triggered an investigation and national security concerns.
Allegations of corruption stem from a televised House inquiry into the alleged misuse of 612.5 million pesos ($10.5 million) in confidential and intelligence funds received by Duterte’s offices as vice president and education secretary. She has since resigned from her education post amid escalating political differences with Marcos.
Further accusations include unexplained wealth and failure to declare assets, charges she refused to fully address during tense televised hearings last year.
The impeachment complaint accuses Duterte of undermining the Marcos administration’s policies, including her criticism of the government’s handling of territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea as a “fiasco” and her perceived silence on China’s assertive actions in the disputed waters.
“Her evasion and silence on the West Philippine Sea issue, crucial to Philippine sovereignty, contrasts sharply with her outspokenness on other matters,” the petition stated, using the Philippine name for the contested waters.
Duterte has repeatedly accused Marcos, his wife, and Romualdez of corruption, weak leadership, and attempts to silence her due to speculation about her potential 2028 presidential bid.