In Manila, the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte entered its 29th day on Wednesday, a proceeding that has stretched across weeks of testimony and procedural fights over how, exactly, she could be removed from office.
Duterte, the country's sitting vice president, has faced impeachment proceedings before the Philippine Senate, which sits as an impeachment court in such cases, much as the U.S. Senate does after a House impeachment. In recent sessions, the court had been weighing a pivotal procedural question: how many votes among the senator-judges are actually required to convict her. Earlier this week, the court ruled to lower that voting threshold, a decision with major implications for the trial's outcome given how close any final vote is expected to be.
That ruling has become the central flashpoint of the trial. Duterte's defense team said this week it is considering appealing the threshold ruling directly to the Philippine Supreme Court, arguing the change affects the fairness of the process. Court spokespeople had previously indicated that some senator-judges wanted the option to defer a related vote while appeals over the threshold were pending, underscoring how contested the procedural questions have become even among the senators themselves. The trial has also shifted focus toward Article II of the impeachment complaint, which concerns allegations of unexplained wealth, after earlier sessions dealt with other procedural and evidentiary matters, including questions around a company called GenCorp.
Impeachment of a vice president is a rare and consequential process anywhere, and the Philippines' 1987 constitution sets a high bar for it, requiring a supermajority of the Senate to convict. The current dispute over exactly what that supermajority means in practice underscores how much can hinge on procedural rulings in a case this closely watched. Coverage of each session has been closely followed by Philippine broadcasters and newspapers, with live blogs and special television coverage accompanying nearly every day of testimony, reflecting the trial's significance to the country's politics.
Sara Duterte is the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, and her rise to the vice presidency in 2022 came after running on a separate ticket from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., an alliance that later frayed into open political rivalry between the two camps. That backdrop has shaped much of the public interest in the impeachment proceedings, with observers watching not just the legal questions at stake but what the outcome could mean for the country's political alignments heading into future elections.
Whether Duterte's legal team files a Supreme Court appeal over the voting threshold, and how the impeachment court proceeds with the unexplained-wealth allegations, will shape how much longer the trial runs.
Who is on trial and why?
Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte is facing an impeachment trial before the Senate, which is acting as an impeachment court.
Why does the voting threshold matter so much?
Conviction requires a supermajority of senator-judges, so a lower threshold makes it procedurally easier to convict, which is why the ruling has become so contested.