House impeaches Sara Duterte for the second time
The House of Representatives voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte, making her the first official in the history of the Philippines to be impeached twice.
House lawmakers voted 255 in favor of impeachment during its first regular session. This, despite a statement released by PDP Laban on May 10 warning legislators they will be barred from running under the party's banner if they voted to impeach Duterte. Twenty-six voted against impeachment, and nine abstained.
By impeaching Duterte a second time, the solons signified they found sufficient evidence to charge her for impeachable offenses.
The measure—containing Committee Report No. 261, together with House Resolution No. 989, setting forth the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte—was presented to the plenary by Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro, chair of the House Justice Committee.
"Hindi po kami narito upang humatol ng pagkakasala. Hindi rin kami narito upang magparusa. Ang tanong laman na nasa harap natin ngayon: May sapat bang dahilan upang ipagpatuloy ang paglilitis sa Senado?" she said.
"Hindi ito nabuo sa isang gabi. Hindi ito produkto ng tsismis, galit, o sigaw sa social media. Committee report, 52 pages. House resolution, 18 pages. Articles of Impeachment, 23 pages. At lampas pa rito ay libo-libong pahina ng annexes, records, certifications, testimonya, financial documents, at deliberations na masusing pinag-aralan ng Committee on Justice," Luistro added.
Prior to the voting, the measure was interpolated by Sagip Party-list Rep. Paolo Marcoleta, BH Party-list Rep. Robert Nazal, Davao City 3rd District Rep. Isidro Ungab, and Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste.
House Justice Committee report
This latest development in Duterte's status was initiated on May 4 after 53 members of the House Committee on Justice unanimously approved the report finding probable cause for the vice president's impeachment. The approval followed weeks of hearings over documentary evidence, presided over by Justice Committee chair Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro.
The hearings tackled the third and fourth impeachment complaints, filed by Fr. Saballa et al. and Atty. Nathaniel Cabrera, respectively, against Duterte. She was accused of misusing public funds, possessing unexplained wealth, and threatening assassination against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
In the course of the House Justice Committee hearings, the National Bureau of Investigation asserted Duterte committed acts of grave threat and inciting sedition when she issued the threats in a 2024 video.
Despite being invited to the hearings, Duterte was absent throughout the weeks-long process. In a statement her office released on March 25, Duterte described the House proceedings as a "fishing expedition" against her.
"Muli, inuuna ang politika kaysa sa kapakanan ng milyon-milyong Pilipino na hirap na hirap dahil sa mahal na bilihin," the statement read.
Previous impeachment attempts
Duterte has had to weather several other impeachment complaints against her. While earlier cases did not make it past the House Justice Committee level, one was endorsed to the Senate on Feb. 5 last year.
However, on June 11, Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano moved to revert the case back to the House after amending Sen. Bato dela Rosa's proposal to dismiss the case. Senate judges then voted to return the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte to the House following an 18-5 decision.
On July 25, 2025, the Supreme Court unanimously declared the case unconstitutional due to the one-year rule under Article XI, Section 3(5) of the Constitution, which says impeachment proceedings against an official are limited to one per year. The impeachment case filed on Feb. 5 contained four complaints.
What's next?
The current Articles of Impeachment against Duterte will now be transferred to the Senate.
Speaking to the press on Monday, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said Senate President Tito Sotto could convene the impeachment court as early as Wednesday, per a report by The Philippine STAR.
“[Sotto] wants it immediately. If he wants to immediately convene... it’s at the discretion of the body if they want it immediately or there is reasonable grounds [to delay],” Gatchalian told the media.
However, during the Senate session in the afternoon of May 11, Sotto was ousted as Senate president with a vote of 13-9, with two abstentions. Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano was elected to replace him.
If the Senate finds her guilty of the charges, Duterte will be removed from her current post and permanently barred from holding public office.
