Despite multiple statements from Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressing his opposition to the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, Congress is still accelerating the related procedures.
Remarkably, the latest impeachment complaint was initiated by the president's eldest son, Sandro Marcos, who is the Senior Deputy Leader of the Majority in the House of Representatives.
Marcos Jr. has stated about the impeachment: "It's irrelevant, it has no impact on the lives of the Filipino people. Why waste time? It's meaningless." However, the actions of Congress show a different trend.
In December 2024, the House of Representatives in the Philippines received the first impeachment complaint against Duterte, followed by two more complaints, but no significant progress was made within two months.
In early February of this year, Sandro Marcos led the push for the fourth impeachment complaint, which consolidated the allegations from the previous three cases and quickly gained the support of over 200 legislators without going through the Judiciary Committee's review.
Before Congress adjourned, the impeachment case was signed by 215 members of the House, with Sandro being the first signatory and the last being the president's cousin, House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
With the House officially passing the impeachment, Congress has appointed 11 prosecutors to conduct the trial in the Senate on behalf of the prosecution. According to Philippine law, the Senate must try the Vice President and ultimately decide whether to convict and remove her from office.
If at least 16 out of 24 senators support, she will be removed from office and permanently barred from holding public office. Currently, the impeachment is in a critical phase, and Duterte's political future remains uncertain.
