The impeachment trial of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte commenced on Monday, placing her ambitions to run for president in 2028 in jeopardy. If found guilty of misusing public funds and threatening to assassinate President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr., Duterte faces removal from office and a lifetime ban from holding public office.
Trial Opens New Chapter in Marcos-Duterte Feud
The trial marks the latest chapter in the explosive feud between Marcos and Duterte, whose alliance collapsed publicly after their landslide victory in the 2022 elections. To convict the 48-year-old daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, a vote of 16 out of 24 senators in the impeachment court is required. However, the outcome remains highly unpredictable as the Senate is evenly split between Marcos and Duterte loyalists, with alliances constantly shifting.
This year alone, the Senate has had four presidents, each leadership change—dubbed a 'coup' by local press—decided by the defection of just a few senators. This fluidity is typical of Philippine politics, dominated by dynasties, where changing alliances often dictate power dynamics.
Complications: Arrested and Hiding Senators
Complicating matters, two senators allied with Duterte have been arrested in recent weeks, while another has gone into hiding from the International Criminal Court. It remains unclear whether these three senators can vote in absentia.
Duterte's corruption charge stems from the alleged misuse of millions of dollars during her tenure as education minister. The charges center on expense claims she made, which she has refused to explain, citing confidentiality.
'If a small village treasurer can't explain missing funds, he is investigated. If a school principal squanders public funds, even just 5,000 pesos ($81; £60), she is punished. If ordinary people are held to account, why not the most powerful government official?' said Congresswoman Gerville Luistro, who delivered the opening argument for the prosecution.
Defense: Trial Aimed at Ousting Duterte
The vice president's lawyer, Sheila Sison, countered: 'It is clear that the objective [of the trial] is to oust her.' Sison noted that Duterte received 32 million votes in the 2022 election, more than Marcos or any senator or congressman involved in the impeachment proceedings.
Duterte herself was absent from the trial. Thousands of police officers, many armed in riot gear, were deployed outside the Senate building in Metro Manila amid fears of unrest, as pro-Duterte and pro-Marcos protesters gathered. Dozens of reporters packed a separate room inside the building to cover the trial, while Filipinos nationwide watched via livestreams and local watch parties.
The Senate has granted a maximum of 92 days for the trial, the first for a sitting vice president in the Philippines.
Heightened Political Tension
The nation has seen heightened political tension in the weeks leading to the trial. In May, an alleged shooting unfolded in the Senate after a prominent Duterte ally, Bato dela Rosa, helped install another ally, Alan Peter Cayetano, as Senate president. Dela Rosa, the chief enforcer of Rodrigo Duterte's deadly war on drugs from 2016 to 2018, is now on the run after the International Criminal Court unsealed an arrest warrant against him.
In June, Cayetano, who served as the elder Duterte's foreign minister, was removed as Senate president. Just last week, authorities filed a plunder case against yet another Duterte ally-senator, Rodante Marcoleta. In response, Marcoleta's supporters from an influential religious group staged three days of protests on Manila's main highway.
Marcoleta turned himself in on Monday, hours before the impeachment trial began.
Marcos and Duterte Exchange Barbs
Marcos's office said on Monday that the president has 'far more important work to attend to' than to monitor the trial, but urged Duterte to attend proceedings so she can personally answer the charges. In response, Duterte said her absence 'does not diminish accountability or imply a lack of transparency,' adding that Marcos's opinion on her impeachment is of 'no importance' to her.
