ANKARA

The Philippine Senate, acting as an impeachment court, has issued summons to the Vice President Sara Duterte, state news agency PNA reported.

She has been given a non-extendible period of 10 days to answer the complaint against her.

Senate President and presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero announced the issuance of the summons after the chamber voted 18–5 to return the complaint to the House of Representatives for clarification of its constitutionality.

Duterte, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, was impeached on Feb. 5 when more than two-thirds of the members of lower house of parliament signed a petition to oust her.

She has been accused of misusing funds when she led the country’s Education Department.


The petition came amid a feud in which Duterte accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of wanting her dead, alleging that he sees her as the "biggest threat" to his hopes of reelection in 2028.

Marcos and Duterte ran as allies in the 2022 elections, securing a six-year term together.

However, their alliance has fractured. Duterte resigned last June from Marcos' Cabinet, where she served as education secretary.

Duterte was also charged by the state with incitement to sedition on Feb. 12.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid