A Philippine senator has drafted a resolution seeking the dismissal of an impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte. The case threatens to end her political career and derail her ambitions for the presidency.
Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives in February for “violation of the constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.” These include alleged corruption, involvement in extrajudicial killings, and a threat to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The resolution was drafted by Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, his office confirmed yesterday. A staunch ally of Duterte’s father, Rodrigo, who served as president in 2016-2022, Dela Rosa won re-election to the Senate in midterm elections on May 12.
The resolution could enhance Sara Duterte’s chances of surviving her Senate impeachment trial, which is due to be held sometime next month. If impeached, Duterte would be stripped of her vice presidential post and be banned from politics for life.
According to a report published by Inquirer.net, Dela Rosa’s resolution hinges on the painfully technical argument that the postponement of the reading of the articles of impeachment against Duterte from June 2 to June 11 leaves the current Congress “with no sufficient time to fully deliberate and resolve” the articles. It argues that the issue “cannot cross over to the incoming 20th Congress which will convene on the fourth Monday of July 2025.”
As a result, the resolution states that the articles of impeachment against Duterte “must necessarily be deemed de facto dismissed, by virtue of the inability of the Senate to properly consider the same because of the timing of the transmittal thereof by the House of Representatives.”
The impeachment drama marks one of the nadirs of the bitter ongoing feud between Duterte and President Marcos. The two political clans formed a formidable partnership ahead of the presidential election of 2022, and Duterte and Marcos won their respective elections in a landslide. But the partnership between the two clans has since deteriorated due to a toxic combination of political differences and personal idiosyncrasies.
In June of last year, Duterte resigned from Marcos’ cabinet, where she served as education secretary, claiming that she felt “used” by the president and his allies. She immediately came under investigation for her alleged misuse of government funds while in charge of the Department of Education. This provided the backdrop to a remarkable outburst during a livestream in November, during which she claimed that her life was at risk, and that she had had hired a hitman to assassinate the president, his wife, and his cousin Martin Romualdez, the current House speaker, in the event of her own murder.
The following month, President Marcos dealt the Dutertes another blow when he permitted Philippine police to enforce an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Rodrigo Duterte. The former leader was arrested at Manila airport and extradited to The Hague, where he faces charges of crimes against humanity connected to his enthusiastically bloody “war on drugs” campaign. It is widely expected that Dela Rosa, who led the anti-narcotics campaign under Duterte, could also be the subject of an ICC arrest warrant.
Dela Rosa’s resolution is reportedly being circulated among senators, although its support remains unclear. When asked by reporters whether he has gathered enough support in the chamber, Dela Rosa said he’ll provide information once the number is “sizable,” GMA News reported.
Duterte-aligned Senate candidates performed better than expected at last month’s midterms, winning five of the 12 seats on offer. Even if the resolution fails, Sara Duterte stands a greater chance of political survival, and of mounting a serious challenge for the presidency at the next election in 2028. This would ensure that the Filipino public will be subjected to three more years of solipsistic political feuding between two of the country’s most prominent political dynasties.