The Philippine House of Representatives justice committee found sufficient grounds Wednesday to advance impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, setting up a constitutional trial that could remove the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte from office.
The committee ruled that Duterte failed to adequately address allegations in her Answer Ad Cautelam, a legal filing submitted with caution, according to GMA Network reporting on the Wednesday decision.
Two impeachment complaints charge the Vice President with betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution, centered on alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds and her public threat to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family.
The committee's finding moves proceedings to the full House for a vote on whether to transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate, which would conduct the trial. A two-thirds Senate majority - 16 of 24 senators - would be required to convict and remove Duterte from office.
The constitutional crisis unfolds as Philippines, Southeast Asia's second-largest economy with 117 million people, faces diesel prices exceeding P100 per liter for the first time and mounting economic pressures across the archipelago.
Duterte's alliance with Marcos fractured publicly in late 2025 over disagreements on foreign policy toward China and the South China Sea, according to political analysts. The impeachment proceedings represent the formal rupture of a partnership that delivered them landslide victories in the May 2022 elections.
The P612.5 million confidential fund controversy centers on expenditures from Duterte's time as Education Secretary and Vice President. Philippine law allows certain officials to spend confidential funds without detailed public accounting for security reasons, but watchdog groups argue the amounts exceeded statutory limits and lacked proper documentation.
