Sara Duterte articles of impeachment transmitted to Senate
The Senate has formally received the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.
The impeachment case was transmitted at 7:22 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13, by House Secretary General Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil to the Senate through Senate Secretary Mark Leandro Mendoza, as reported by the Philippine News Agency.
The Philippine STAR shared photos of the arrival of the impeachment articles to the Senate on Facebook.
According to Velicaria-Garafil, the transmittal of the articles of impeachment "marks the beginning of the next constitutional phase of the process, and the House Secretariat made sure that all records were complete and in proper order prior to submission."
She added that the accuracy of their submission is their "paramount concern."
On Monday, May 11, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Duterte, making her the first official in the history of the Philippines to be impeached twice.
House lawmakers voted 257 in favor of impeachment during its first regular session 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-five voted against impeachment, and nine abstained.
The VP is facing allegations of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption, and other high crimes.
If they find her guilty of the charges, Duterte will be removed from her current post and permanently barred from holding public office.
