By Karen Lema and Mikhail Flores
MANILA, May 11 (Reuters) – Philippine lawmakers on Monday overwhelmingly backed the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, setting the stage for a trial in the Senate that could end her hopes for a presidential run in 2028.
A House justice committee had last month found probable cause for her impeachment in a petition from activists accusing her of misusing public funds, accumulating unexplained wealth and threatening the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, his wife and the former House speaker.
The petition was backed by 255 of 318 lawmakers on Monday, surpassing the one‑third threshold required.
With her ally-turned-enemy Marcos limited by the constitution to a single term in office, Duterte is the clear favourite to succeed him in 2028, but the impeachment could derail her bid.
Duterte denies wrongdoing, and her legal team has described the impeachment effort as defective and a “fishing expedition”.
The Senate must convene a trial with its members as jurors. Duterte faces removal from office and a ban from politics if convicted.
The impeachment effort is the latest in a series of setbacks for the influential Duterte family, with the vice president feeling constant heat from her bitter feud with Marcos and her father Rodrigo Duterte awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court over a war on drugs that killed thousands of people during his 2016-2022 presidency.
But in what could be a boost for Duterte, there was drama on Monday in the upper house Senate, where a motion was passed to remove its president and replace him with Alan Peter Cayetano, a staunch loyalist of her family.
The change in Senate leadership means Cayetano, a former running mate of Duterte’s father, would be the presiding judge if an impeachment trial is convened.
(Reporting by Karen Lema; Additional reporting by Adrian Portugal and Nestor Corrales; Editing by Martin Petty and John Mair)
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