Philippine Senate buries impeachment motion against Vice President Sara Duterte

ISTANBUL

The Philippine Senate voted Wednesday to archive articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.

The decision came after a 19-4 vote in favor of a motion to adhere to a Supreme Court ruling last month that declared the impeachment articles unconstitutional and halted the trial, according to the Rappler online news site.

Senator Rodante Marcoleta called the impeachment complaint “dead on arrival," the Daily Tribune newspaper reported.

Senate Minority Leader Tito Sotto, who voted against the motion, called the decision "dead."

The court had said that any subsequent impeachment complaint could only be filed starting Feb. 6 next year due to Constitution’s one-year rule, which restricts the initiation of impeachment proceedings against an official to once a year.

Four impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte before the House of Representatives. The first three, filed by private individuals and groups in December 2024, were considered "terminated" or "dismissed" when the House approved a fourth complaint in February of this year. The Supreme Court ruled that the fourth complaint fell within the same one-year period as the "terminated" complaints, thus violating the one-year rule.

Duterte, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, was impeached on Feb. 5 when more than two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives signed a petition for her removal from office.

She has been accused of misusing funds while leading the Department of Education.