Philippine House Vice President Sara Duterte | South China Sea News

Members voted to send an improvisation chapter against Duterte to the Senate for trial.

Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte was impeached by the lower house of parliament, many of whom were allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, signed a petition , to remove him from office.

Although no details have been revealed, Wednesday's impeachment vote comes after a series of complaints accusing Duterte of crimes, from misuse of public funds to planning Marcos' assassination. Duterte has been denying misconduct and described her actions against her as political hatred.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez told lawmakers: “It has been submitted by more than one-third of the members of the House, or a total of 215 (of 306 members) … the motion has been approved.”

Her fate is now in the hands of 24 senators, two-thirds of whom must vote for her impeachment in order to get her removed. Although a trial date has not been set yet, she will continue to serve as vice president during the improvisation process.

Duterte is the fourth official after former President Joseph Estrada, the Ombudsman and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

In the Philippines, it may be impeached for violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, corruption, other high crimes or betrayal of public trust.

The House vote comes a few days before the midterm election campaign, with people generally expected to set up seats for the 2028 presidential election.

Marcos has previously urged Congress not to pursue Duterte's impeachment, calling it “a storm in a teacup” and that it will disperse the legislature's main responsibilities.

But on Monday, Marcos' executive secretary Lucas Bersamin said the presidential office would “not interfere” with impropriety complaints.

Former allies become enemies

Duterte has been taking over as president for years as her controversial father, Rodrigo, but she eventually resigned from Marcos' support to serve as vice president. Together, they won a landslide victory in 2022.

But since then, the league has collapsed, giving way to a months of public quarrel, which has already taken place with wildly accused deals.

In November, Duterte delivered a critical speech saying that if she was assassinated herself, she ordered someone to kill Marcos.

She accused Marcos and his wife of corrupt, vulnerable leadership and attempted to laugh at her over speculation that she might seek presidency in 2028.

Meanwhile, Duterte is accused of misusing pesos ($612.5 million) in public funds, which led her resignation from the Marcos cabinet in June, where she oversaw the Ministry of Education.

She has also been criticized for failing to stand in the controversial South China Sea.