Priests exorcise Philippine Senate ahead of Duterte impeachment trial
The trial could remove Duterte from office and bar her from future public posts if 16 senators vote to convict, officials said.
- The Philippine Senate opened the impeachment trial of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, acting as an impeachment court to weigh allegations of corruption and assassination threats. Over 6,000 police officers were deployed to secure the volatile proceedings.
- Last month, the House of Representatives voted 257 to 25 to impeach Duterte, escalating a bitter feud between Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Charges include misusing P612.5 million in confidential funds and concealing unexplained wealth.
- Lead counsel Sheila Sison argued the impeachment is a "fishing expedition" meant to overturn the mandate of more than 32 million voters. She insisted the articles suffer from "fatal constitutional, procedural, and substantive defects."
- Conviction requires at least 16 votes in the 24-member Senate during the scheduled 92-day trial. A guilty verdict would remove Duterte from office and permanently disqualify her from the 2028 presidential race.
- Jean Franco, a Political Science professor at the University of the Philippines, said "Philippine democracy is also on trial here." Many young Filipinos remain "disappointed, dismayed, and ignored" amid the proceedings.
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16 Articles
Philippine Senate begins impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine Senate, acting as an impeachment court, opened the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday in a politically volatile event that will unfold against the backdrop of her bitter feud with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. More than 6,000 police officers, including anti-riot squads, were deployed to secure the Senate, where about […]
Palace: Millions of votes do not shield VP from the law
THE number of votes received by Vice President Sara Duterte in the 2022 national elections does not shield her from the impeachable offenses she allegedly committed, Malacañang said on Wednesday.Palace Press Officer Claire Castro issued the statement after Duterte’s defense team argued that the impeachment proceedings against the vice president seek to overturn the mandate of more than 32 million voters who supported her in the 2022 elections.Th…
Philippines' democracy tested by Sara Duterte impeachment trial
Impeachment proceedings against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte over allegations that include corruption and threats to assassinate President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. began Monday. The start of the trial, which is set to run for 92 days, saw clashes between police, Duterte supporters and protesters calling for her removal. The Senate trial comes after the lower chamber, the House of Representatives, overwhelmingly approved the imp…
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