Lawmakers vote on the impeachment of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte at the House of Representatives in Quezon City, the Philippines, May 11, 2026. The House of Representatives of the Philippines on Monday secured the required number of votes to impeach Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte. Articles of impeachment will be transmitted to the Senate for the trial. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
MANILA, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The House of Representatives of the Philippines on Monday secured the required number of votes to impeach Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte. Articles of impeachment will be transmitted to the Senate for the trial.
Lawmakers voted 255 in favor, 26 against and nine abstained. The affirmative votes met the constitutional threshold of at least one-third of the House members, or of 106 votes.
The articles of impeachment accused Sara of corruption, assassination plots, inciting sedition and patterns of abuse, among others, and will be moved forward to the Senate for trial.
Sara's lawyers said Monday they are prepared for impeachment proceedings when the Senate sits as an impeachment court, according to their statement.
The defense team said it is the prosecution panel's responsibility to discharge the burden of proof during the impeachment trial. Local media said the House of Representatives of the Philippines will decide on the prosecution panel that will be sent to the impeachment trial by Tuesday or Wednesday.
Under the Philippine Constitution, the Senate has the sole authority to try and decide impeachment. If more than two-thirds of senators vote in favor of impeachment, she will be convicted and removed from office and barred from holding public office for life.
Sara was absent from the plenary vote. Local media reported that the Philippine Office of the President approved her application for an overseas trip from May 2 to May 15. Earlier this month, she traveled to The Hague, the Netherlands, and visited her father, Rodrigo Duterte, in detention at the International Criminal Court. ■
