Philippine vice president challenges impeachment complaint in top court

ISTANBUL

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte filed a petition before the Supreme Court, challenging a fourth impeachment complaint against her, local media reported on Wednesday.

A group of lawyers also filed a similar petition on Tuesday, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Israelito Torreon, one of the lawyers, called the impeachment complaint against Duterte “constitutionally deficient,” and said it is a “violation of pertinent constitutional provisions and is likewise jurisdictionally void and the same should be dismissed and not entertained by the Senate of the Republic of the Philippines.”


Duterte, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, was impeached on Feb. 5 when more than two-thirds of the members of parliament signed a petition to oust her.

She has been accused of misusing funds when she led the country’s Education Department.


The petition came amid a feud in which Duterte accused President Ferdinand Marcos Junior of wanting her dead, alleging that he sees her as the "biggest threat" to his hopes of reelection in 2028.

Marcos and Duterte ran as allies in the 2022 elections, securing a six-year term together.

However, their alliance has fractured in recent months. Duterte resigned last June from Marcos' Cabinet, where she served as education secretary.

Duterte was also charged by the state with incitement to sedition on Feb. 12.

Her impeachment trial is set to begin in July.