Philippine lawmakers impeach Vice-President Sara Duterte over 'assassination plot'

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte has been impeached by the House of Representatives after a vote, paving the way for a Senate trial that could result in her removal from office. The vote on Wednesday followed allegations in December that Ms. Duterte had misused millions of dollars in public funds and plotted to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos.

A long-standing political feud exists between Vice President Sara Duterte and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and the current President Ferdinand Marcos and his allies in Congress. House Secretary General Reginald Velasco stated during a plenary session of the lower house of Congress that at least 215 lawmakers had signed the petition to impeach Ms. Duterte.

The House resolution accuses Ms. Duterte of "violating the Constitution, betraying public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes." Representatives for Ms. Duterte have not immediately responded to requests for comment. President Marcos has stated that he does not support her impeachment, but has no power over the legislative branch.

Ms. Duterte's fate now rests in the hands of the 24 senators of the Philippines, two-thirds of whom must vote in favor of impeachment to remove her from office and disqualify her from holding public office in the future. A trial date has not yet been set. Dennis Coronacion, chairman of the political science department at the University of Santo Tomas, said that the outcome of the vote on Ms. Duterte's impeachment could depend on President Marcos' influence.

“If (Mr. Marcos) is committed to this, committed to the impeachment proceedings... I think it’s possible to get the required number of votes in the Senate,” Mr. Coronacion said. He added that Wednesday’s vote was “surprising.” Mr. Coronacion said that if the administration does not intervene, the likelihood of Ms. Duterte being impeached is close to 50%, as incumbent senators need Ms. Duterte's strong support in Mindanao in the upcoming elections.

Ms. Duterte is only one of four senior officials to face an impeachment vote since the Philippines restored democracy in 1986 after the end of the 20-year rule of the elder Marcos, the other three being former President Joseph Estrada, an ombudsman, and a former chief justice of the Supreme Court. Ms. Duterte claimed during an online press conference in November that if she were killed, she would hire an assassin to kill Marcos, his wife, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, warning that this was not a joke.

Ms. Duterte stated at the November 24 press conference that she had instructed an assassin to also kill President Marcos' wife and the Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives. "I already talked to a person. I said: 'If I get killed, go ahead and kill Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke,'" Ms. Duterte said. "I said: 'Don't stop until you kill them,' then he said: 'Yes.'"

The Vice President later stated that she was not threatening him, but rather expressing concerns about her own safety. The House is also investigating the alleged misuse of 612.5 million pesos in confidential and intelligence funds received by Ms. Duterte during her time as Vice President and Education Secretary. Last year, she refused to answer questions in detail during a tense televised hearing. Ms. Duterte also strongly protested the ordered temporary detention of her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, for allegedly obstructing the investigation.

Ms. Duterte has accused Mr. Marcos, his wife, and Romualdez of corruption, poor leadership, and attempting to suppress her because of speculation that she may seek the presidency in 2028. The National Bureau of Investigation summoned Ms. Duterte last year to ask her to explain to investigators the threats made against them. Mr. Marcos and Ms. Duterte won the 2022 election by a landslide, but have since split over key disagreements, including their attitudes toward China's territorial claims in the South China Sea and their views on Ms. Duterte's father's deadly war on drugs.

Her father's brutal war on drugs, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of predominantly poor suspects, mostly killed by police, is under investigation by the International Criminal Court as a possible crime against humanity.