Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Vice President of the Philippines Sara\nDuterte faces the biggest political test of her career after the\ncountry\u2019s parliament, or House of Representatives, is scheduled to hold\na vote on Monday (11\/5\/2026) regarding her impeachment process. This\nmove could pose a serious obstacle to her ambitions to run in the 2028\npresidential election.<\/p>\n
The impeachment process deepens the political conflict between the\nDuterte family and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.\u2019s camp, two major\nforces that previously allied in a landslide victory in the 2022\nelections but have now turned into fierce rivals.<\/p>\n
If a majority of lower house members support the impeachment, the\nPhilippine Senate must hold a trial with senators acting as jurors. If\nfound guilty, Sara Duterte not only risks losing her vice-presidential\nposition but also being barred from entering politics.<\/p>\n
The parliamentary justice committee last month stated there was\nsufficient basis to proceed with the impeachment process against Sara\nDuterte. The petition was filed by activist groups accusing her of\nmisusing public funds, possessing unexplained wealth, and threatening\nthe safety of President Marcos Jr., his wife, and the former House\nSpeaker.<\/p>\n
Despite facing significant political pressure, Sara Duterte is still\nconsidered the strongest candidate to succeed Marcos in the 2028\nelection. The Philippine Constitution limits the presidential term to\none period, so Marcos cannot run again.<\/p>\n
Their relationship has changed drastically compared to the 2022\nsituation when Marcos and Duterte ran on a joint political ticket and\nboth won decisively in separate elections for president and vice\npresident.<\/p>\n
Sara Duterte has even previously apologised for helping to bring\nMarcos to power.<\/p>\n
Duterte denies all the accusations levelled against her. Her legal\nteam claims the impeachment petition is legally flawed and merely a\n\u201cfishing expedition\u201d.<\/p>\n
Cited from Reuters, the Monday voting schedule was confirmed by the\nHouse of Representatives General Secretary Cheloy Garafil and justice\ncommittee member Leila de Lima. If more than one-third of lower house\nmembers support the impeachment, the process automatically proceeds to\nthe Senate for an official trial.<\/p>\n
This impeachment effort is the latest blow to the Duterte family,\nwhich has dominated Philippine politics for years.<\/p>\n
Sara Duterte\u2019s father, Rodrigo Duterte, is currently facing\ninternational pressure and awaiting trial at the International Criminal\nCourt regarding the war on drugs during his administration from\n2016-2022, which killed thousands of people.<\/p>\n
The political conflict between Sara Duterte and Marcos has also\ncontinued to worsen in recent months.<\/p>\n
Last year, the Philippine House of Representatives had actually\npassed an impeachment against Sara Duterte. However, that decision was\noverturned by the Supreme Court due to procedural issues.<\/p>\n
If ultimately impeached, Sara Duterte could become the\nhighest-ranking Philippine official to undergo such a process since\nformer President Joseph Estrada in 2000. Estrada\u2019s trial at that time\nfailed to proceed after the prosecutors walked out of the session.<\/p>\n
Besides Estrada, the Philippines has also impeached three other\nhigh-ranking officials, including an ombudsman and an election\ncommission head who resigned before the trial concluded.<\/p>\n
The only high-ranking official who was actually found guilty in an\nimpeachment process in the Philippines is former Supreme Court Chief\nJustice Renato Corona.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Marcos himself faced a separate impeachment attempt in\nFebruary. However, that move failed after his allies in Congress voted\nto reject it.<\/p>\n
Marcos is attempting to distance himself from the legal process\nagainst Sara Duterte and is not publicly involved in the process.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/parliament-moves-ris-neighbouring-vice-president-begins-impeachment-process-today-1778493247", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }