The Judiciary Committee of the Philippine House of Representatives held its first public hearing on the impeachment case of vice president Sarah Duterte on the 25th. According to the“Philippine Daily Enquirer” reported that this progress is seen as the current political differences in the Philippines an important node in the open. Relations between Sarah and Ferdinand Marcos, who ran and won the 2022 election, are visibly strained as their differences continue to widen.
On the day of the hearing, Sarah was not present. She issued a statement saying that under parliamentary rules, Impeachees are not required to attend hearings in person. She said she would give priority to administrative matters and had filed a“Precautionary defence” with the court, arguing that the existing charges were not substantiated and asking for the impeachment proceedings to be dismissed. She also questioned the need for this hearing, that there is duplication of evidence related to the investigation, also said that this is the house of representatives“Fishing operations.”.
Reported that despite Sarah’s absence, the House Judiciary Committee continues to advance the process, with 34 votes in favor, 1 vote against the resolution, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Ombudsman issued subpoenas for evidence. The commission said the move was aimed at obtaining key material related to the case for further review.
“Philippine times” analysis, the background of the impeachment case and the ruling coalition of the Philippines related to internal differences. After the 2022 election, differences gradually emerged between the camp of Marcos and Duterte over the arrangement of cabinet positions and policy orientations. Sarah had hoped to become defence minister, but was eventually named Education Minister. Since then, differences have emerged on a number of policy issues.
At present, the impeachment charges against Sarah focus on two aspects. One is the“Betrayal of public trust” and related controversy. In November 2024, Sarah’s statement, “I’ve told a man that if I’m killed, you’re going to kill Little Marcos,” caused public concern and led to an investigation, it also raised tensions between the country’s president and vice-president to a new level. The second is a dispute over the use of public money. The charges allege that, as education secretary, Sarah under-accounted for some of the confidential funds, which amounted to about 612.5 million Philippine pesos.
Procedurally, the House of Representatives had previously tried to push for impeachment in 2025, but the Supreme Court stayed on procedural grounds. With the expiry of the time limit, a new impeachment motion was resubmitted and supported by some members of Parliament, thus entering the current phase of hearings. Under the Philippine Constitution, if the articles of impeachment are approved by more than one-third of the votes of the full House of Representatives, the case will be referred to the Senate. The Senate will then rule on the case and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will preside. A two-thirds majority is required for a final conviction, which would remove the impeached person from public office and possibly bar him from holding it again.
BBC analysis, the progress of the case by the outside world widely watched. Behind the hearing is the lead-up to the 2028 Presidential election. Some polls show that Sarah is currently leading with 55% of the support rate Marcos 36% support rate, is seen as the strongest candidate to replace Marcos. The Duterte campaign has also outperformed the Marcos campaign in the 2025 midterm elections. Analysts said Marcos’s success in ousting Sarah from politics through impeachment would clear the way for his own camp and allow him to nominate a friendlier successor. Conversely, if Sarah survives the crisis, she is likely to use her image as a victim of political persecution to shore up her base and position herself better for the 2028 election.
The BBC said the impeachment process itself has strong institutional constraints, and its final outcome depends on the votes in parliament. Because the 24 members of the Senate are nationally elected and may be judged on the basis of their respective political positions in specific votes, there remains uncertainty about the course of the case.
In the Philippines, impeachment cases are often a bellwether of political turmoil. In late 2000, then-president Joseph Estrada was impeached by the House of Representatives on suspicion of corruption, but his trial in the Senate was deadlocked over critical evidence, eventually triggering a“Second People’s Power Revolution.” Forced him to resign before the trial was over. Since 1986, the only case in which the Philippines has actually gone through the full legal process and successfully convicted has been the 2012 case of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Reinato Corona, the BBC said.