Philippines VP Duterte challenges impeachment before Supreme Court

MANILA - Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte has asked the Supreme Court to nullify an impeachment complaint against her, making her first legal move to fight a case that could lead to her removal and lifetime ban from public office.

The Lower House impeached Ms Duterte on Feb 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, Ms Duterte is seen as a strong candidate for the 2028 presidential election.

She has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, saying the move to impeach her, amid a bitter rift with Mr Marcos, was politically motivated.

In a petition to the Supreme Court, Ms 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 the petition on Feb 18.

Ms 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 midterm elections in May.

The 24 senators of the Upper House will serve as jurors in the impeachment trial that could lead to Ms 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 Feb 19, House leaders said Ms Duterte’s “desperate” move was aimed at “evading accountability”. REUTERS