Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte has petitioned the Supreme Court to dismiss an impeachment complaint against her, marking her first legal challenge to a case that could result in her removal from office and a lifetime ban from public service.
The lower house impeached Duterte on February 5 on accusations such as budget anomalies, amassing unusual wealth and an alleged threat to the lives of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the first lady, and the house speaker.
The daughter of the country’s firebrand former leader, Duterte is seen as a strong candidate for the 2028 presidential election.
She has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, saying the move to impeach her, amidst a bitter rift with Marcos, was politically motivated.
Impeachment Process Challenged
In a petition to the Supreme Court, Duterte accused the lower house of “grave abuse of discretion” when it “deliberately circumvented” a constitutional safeguard against more than one impeachment proceeding against the same official within a year.
“This political stratagem was done at the expense of constitutional standards … with the ultimate goal of having the petitioner perpetually disqualified from running for any national elective office,” she added in Tuesday’s petition.
Duterte also asked the court to stop the upper house from proceeding with the impeachment trial, which the Senate president has previously indicated could start in June, following mid-term elections in May.
Impeachment Trial
The 24 senators of the upper house will serve as jurors in the impeachment trial that could lead to Duterte’s removal from office and a lifetime ban from public posts, which would kill off any hope of becoming president.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in a statement on Wednesday House leaders said Duterte’s “desperate” move was aimed at “evading accountability”.
Father In Defence Team?
Duterte earlier said her 79-year-old father was welcome to join her defence team “if he wants to”, adding he may not lead the team given his age. Duterte is a former city mayor and prosecutor who was Philippine president from 2016-2022.
The Philippine vice president has been embroiled in a long-running row with former ally Marcos and has previously dismissed the impeachment move against her as politically motivated.
(With inputs from Reuters)
