UPDATE 1-Philippine lawmakers start vote on impeachment of presidential hopeful Duterte

Lawmakers in the Philippines started voting on Monday on whether to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte, in what could create a major hurdle in her bid to run ‌for the presidency in 2028.

Lawmakers in the Philippines started voting on Monday on whether to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte, in what could create a major hurdle in her bid to run ‌for the presidency in 2028. A House justice committee last month found probable cause for her impeachment in a petition from activists accusing her of misusing public funds, accumulating unexplained wealth and of threatening the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, his wife and the former House speaker. With her ally-turned-enemy Marcos limited by the constitution to a single term ‌in office, Duterte is the clear favourite to succeed him in 2028. She has apologised for helping bring Marcos to power in 2022 after they ran ‌on a joint ticket and won the votes for their respective positions in landslides.

Duterte denies wrongdoing, and her legal team has described the petition as defective and a "fishing expedition". If more than one-third of the lower house backs her impeachment, the Senate must convene a trial with its members as jurors. Duterte faces removal from office and a ban from politics if convicted. The impeachment effort is the ⁠latest in a ​series of setbacks for the influential Duterte ⁠family, with the vice president feeling constant heat from her bitter feud with Marcos and her father Rodrigo Duterte awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court over a war on drugs that killed thousands ⁠of people during his 2016-2022 presidency. The House last year voted to impeach Sara Duterte, but that was later struck down by the Supreme Court over a procedural flaw. DUTERTE LOYALIST INSTALLED

In ​what could be a boost for Duterte, there was drama on Monday in the upper house Senate, where a motion was passed to remove its ⁠president and replace him with Alan Peter Cayetano, a staunch loyalist of her family. The change in Senate leadership means Cayetano, a former running mate of Duterte's father, would be the presiding judge if an impeachment ⁠trial ​is convened.

Sara Duterte could become the highest-ranking official to be impeached in the Philippines after former President Joseph Estrada in 2000, whose trial was aborted after prosecutors walked out. Three other top officials have been impeached, including an ombudsman and an election commission head, who both resigned before their trials. Former Supreme Court chief justice ⁠Renato Corona is the only person so far to be convicted in an impeachment trial. Marcos survived a separate impeachment bid in February after his allies in Congress voted to ⁠dismiss it. He has distanced himself from proceedings ⁠against his estranged vice president.

Dozens of supporters of the impeachment effort gathered outside Congress on Monday, chanting and holding banners saying "Impeach Sara Now." Among them was left-wing Congressman Perci Cendana, who said he was confident there would be enough votes to ‌back it, calling it a "historic ‌day for democracy".