EXPLAINED: What you need to know about Philippine Vice President Duterte’s upcoming trial

The Philippines, arguably one of Southeast Asia’s freest democracies, is heading toward a trial that could lead to the removal of an impeached official – Vice President Sara Duterte.

Complicating matters are shifting alliances that have long-characterized Filipino politics, with the upcoming midterm elections in May shaping up to be a battle between Duterte and her former ally, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Sara Duterte, the 46-year-old daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, is the first Philippine vice president to be impeached. 

The Senate will convene as an impeachment court and likely tackle the complaint after Marcos delivers his annual address to Congress in the second half of July. Before then, Filipinos will vote on May 12 to fill 12 of the 24 Senate seats and all 317 House seats. 

Here’s what you need to know about the impeachment process and what’s at stake:

Why was Sara Duterte impeached?

On Feb. 5, the House of Representatives impeached Duterte on charges of violating the constitution, graft and corruption and of plotting to assassinate Marcos, his wife and the House speaker. Duterte was alleged to have misused U.S. $10.6 million when she served as education secretary under Marcos.

She’s denied all the allegations and has promised to face off against her detractors in the Senate. 

“The only thing I can say at this point is: God save the Philippines,” Duterte told reporters after House members voted for the articles of impeachment.

While Marcos has distanced himself from the VP’s impeachment, Duterte and her supporters have asked the Supreme Court to stop the political proceedings. It has yet to rule on her petition.

When will the trial start?

Senate President Francis Escudero has announced that the impeachment trial is to begin after Marcos delivers his fourth State of the Nation Address, which the constitution mandates be delivered on the third Monday of July.  

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How long will the proceedings last?

There is no fixed date as to how long an impeachment trial can last and the case would depend on the number and quality of witnesses. In 2012, an impeachment trial of the late Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona lasted nearly half a year. 

Over a decade before that, the 2001 impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada, a former action movie star, abruptly ended when his allies prevented the unsealing of evidence against him. Public anger snowballed into a popular revolt that forced Estrada out of office. He was subsequently jailed on massive corruption, but was later pardoned.  

When is an official impeached?

The House needs a vote of only one-third of its sitting members to impeach a sitting official. 

Following such a vote, Articles of Impeachment would be sent to the Senate, or the upper chamber, which would convene itself into an impeachment court to “try” the case. A vote of at least two-thirds (16 members) of the Senate is needed to convict. 

If this were to occur, the impeached official would be removed, and the Senate, with its members acting as senator-judges, could impose additional penalties including permanent disbarment from holding public office. 

Who will replace the vice president if she loses? 

If Duterte is removed from office, Marcos could nominate her successor from among the ranks of the Senate and the House. His choice would then need to be confirmed by votes in both houses.

Duterte is the fifth official in the Southeast Asian nation to be impeached after Estrada, Corona, an ombudsman and elections chief.  Only Corona was convicted, while the others resigned rather than be subjected to a protracted political process.

Will the trial be held publicly and what are the implications? 

An impeachment trial in the Senate would be held under full media scrutiny for accountability’s sake – but while the senators are called upon to be impartial, analysts said clear political battle lines had already been drawn.

Duterte’s father, tough-talking former leader Rodrigo Duterte, whose legacy in office was marked by his administration’s bloody war on drugs, is leading the senatorial campaigns of opposition candidates. The slate includes sitting senators Christopher Go – who served as Rodrigo Duterte’s chief aide – and his former police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, who enforced the drug war. 

They are joined by Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, the former president’s spiritual adviser who is campaigning from jail while fighting sex-trafficking charges involving minors and adults, and House member Rodante Maroleta, a staunch defender of the Duterte family. 

What happens next?

The Southeast Asian nation is no stranger to political infighting, but an impeachment acquittal could give breathing space to Sara Duterte, who remains popular especially in the south and has flirted with the idea of running for president in 2028. Marcos is constitutionally prohibited from running again. 

If she were to be convicted, Marcos would be in a unique position of being able to pick her successor. He could select a loyalist from the lower House where his cousin, Martin Romualdez, is the speaker and his son, Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, is a ranking member. 

Analysts have noted that the impending impeachment trial is a clear sign that the once-valuable political alliance between the Marcos and Duterte families, which led to a big win in the 2002 national polls, has come to a bitter end.