Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte Asks Supreme Court To Cancel Claims For Impeachment, Parliament Considers

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte/PHOTO Presidential Communications Operations Office Via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte asked the Supreme Court to cancel the impeachment charge against her.

This is his first legal step against a case that could result in his dismissal and result in a life ban from public office.

The lower house impeached Duterte on February 5 on charges such as budget anomalies, unusual hoarding of wealth, and alleged threats to the life of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the first lady, and the chairman of the House of Representatives.

The daughter of the country's former leader, Duterte, is seen as a strong candidate for the 2028 presidential election.

He repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and said the move to impeach him, amid a fierce dispute with Marcos, was politically motivated.

In her petition to the Supreme Court, Sara Duterte accused the lower house of "severe abuse of wisdom" when the assembly "deliberately avoided" constitutional protection against more than one impeachment process against the same official within one year.

"This political strategy is carried out at the expense of constitutional standards with the ultimate goal so that applicants are continuously disqualified from candidacy for national election positions," he continued in a petition.

Sara Duterte also asked the court to stop the upper house from continuing the impeachment trial, which was previously indicated by the Senate president to begin in June, after interim elections in May.

The 24 senators of the upper house will act as judges in the impeachment trial which could result in Duterte's dismissal from his post and a life ban on holding public office, which would kill hopes of becoming president.

MP Martin Romualdez did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in a statement on Wednesday, parliamentary leaders said Duterte's "depthless" action was aimed at "avoiding accountability".