Philippine vice president impeached by lawmakers over suspected wealth
and threats
[May 12, 2026]
By JIM GOMEZ
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The House of Representatives in the
Philippines voted overwhelmingly to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte
on Monday over alleged unexplained wealth and threats against the
president, as the rift between the camps of the country's top two
officials escalated.
The House, which is dominated by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s
allies, voted 257-25 with nine abstentions. The two impeachment
complaints against Duterte, which will now be elevated to the Senate for
a trial, mark an initial setback to her plan to seek the presidency in
2028.
Shortly before the impeachment vote in the House, Senate President
Vicente Sotto III, who had vowed to immediately put the vice president
to trial, was ousted by 13 of 24 senators, including supporters of the
vice president and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
It's not immediately clear how the vice president's impending
impeachment trial would be affected by the Senate leadership change, but
Sotto told reporters that he and his allies would insist that the
proceedings against the vice president should be immediately taken up
once submitted.
A standoff in the Senate
A tense standoff ensued when Sen. Roland dela Rosa, an ally of former
President Duterte — who is facing trial before the International
Criminal Court in the Netherlands — suddenly appeared in the Senate
after months of absence. National Bureau of Investigation officers tried
to run after dela Rosa but failed to reach him as he dashed into the
Senate's plenary hall and sought the protection of fellow senators.
Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in March last year and detained in the
Netherlands on charges of crimes against humanity. The charges are in
connection with deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he ordered while he was in
office.
Dela Rosa once served as the national police chief under Duterte, and
was the first to enforce the bloody campaign against illegal drugs that
left thousands of mostly petty suspects dead. Philippine police
officials have summoned dela Rosa to appear before them for an
investigation into his role in the Duterte-era killings.
In The Hague, the ICC on Monday unsealed an arrest warrant for dela Rosa
for the crime against humanity of murder of “no less than 32 persons”
allegedly committed between July 2016 and the end of April 2018, when he
headed the national police.
It remains unclear how the warrant would be enforced as dela Rosa
remained in the Senate’s protective custody.
Duterte had survived an impeachment bid last year
The vice president has generally denied any wrongdoing without answering
the criminal allegations against her in detail. Her lawyers said Monday
they were ready to defend her in a trial.
“While questions of constitutional significance remain pending before
the Supreme Court, we are fully prepared to defend the vice president
before the Senate,” the lawyers said in a statement, adding that “it is
incumbent upon the prosecution to discharge the burden of proof.”
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Protesters shout slogans during a rally calling for the impeachment
of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte outside the House of
Representative in Quezon city, Philippines on Monday, May 11, 2026.
(AP Photo/Joeal Calupitan)
She has repeatedly accused Marcos, his wife and his cousin, former
House Speaker Martin Romualdez, of corruption, weak leadership and
attempting to muzzle her because of speculation she may seek the
presidency in 2028 when Marcos’ six-year term ends.
Last year, she was also impeached by the House but survived by
successfully petitioning the Supreme Court to declare the
impeachment bid unconstitutional on a technicality.
Rep. Gerville Luistro, who heads the House Justice Committee, said
the impeachment complaints included several criminal allegations,
like huge bank transactions over the years that Duterte has not
declared as required by law and misuse of confidential funds of her
office as vice president and as education secretary, a post she once
held under Marcos.
Luistro also cited threats made by the vice president during an
online news conference in 2024 to have Marcos, his wife and
Romualdez killed by an assassin if she herself was assassinated, as
their political disputes escalated. The vice president then warned
that her threat wasn’t a joke.
The vice president later said she wasn’t threatening him but was
expressing concern for her own safety. Her threatening remarks set
off a criminal investigation and national security concerns.
“These are matters that go into the integrity and accountability and
fitness of a public official occupying the second highest position
in our government,” Rep. Leila de Lima, who endorsed one of two
impeachment complaints against Duterte, told fellow lawmakers.
“Impeachment is not political persecution,” de Lima said in response
to allegations by Duterte's followers.
The vice president's husband, Manases Carpio, has filed criminal
complaints against Luistro and other legislators and officials after
government records of the couple’s bank transactions were made
public in a recent House hearing. They said that violated the
country’s bank secrecy law.
The vice president remains popular, based on independent surveys.
Sara Duterte and President Marcos were running mates in a whirlwind
alliance in the 2022 election but have since had a bitter falling
out.
She has accused Marcos of allowing the ICC to carry out what she
described as the “kidnapping” of her father in violation of
Philippine laws.
___
Associated Press journalists Joeal Calupitan and Aaron Favila
contributed to this report.
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