Prosecutors drop most impeachment charges against Philippine VP Duterte

MANILA – A Philippine impeachment court on Oct 13 granted prosecutors’ request to drop most of the charges against Vice-President Sara Duterte at a trial that could still block her 2028 presidential bid.

Prosecutors, who had already moved last week to remove a bribery count, went further on Oct 13 by seeking that allegations of misused funds and a death threat made against President Ferdinand Marcos also be eliminated.

Sara Duterte, daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, has been on trial before the Philippine Senate for months, and a conviction on any of four charges would see her barred from elected office permanently.

The court is still weighing the last remaining charge of unexplained wealth, and if found guilty she could be hit with a ban that would end her bid to become president in 2028.

“Articles 1, 3, and 4 shall no longer form part of the Articles of Impeachment... shall not be submitted to the members of the court for a vote or for a verdict of conviction or acquittal,” Senator and presiding officer Francis Escudero said in approving the motion.

The unexpected move by prosecutors on the trial’s 39th day came after they presented weeks of evidence backing the now-dismissed charges.

‘Prosecutorial misconduct’

Chief prosecutor Gerville Luistro told the tribunal the decision would ease the court’s job and speed up the conclusion of the trial, which began on July 6.

Luistro argued the prosecution had proven the unexplained wealth charge, referring to allegations that Duterte had failed to declare all her assets, something government officials are required by law to do each year.

“We’re going all in here. We believe that the evidence is substantial and compelling and warrants the respondent’s removal from office,” he added.

Chief defence lawyer Sheila Sison called the ruling “completely unfair”, noting prosecutors had already put 14 witnesses on the stand to lay out evidence against the vice-president.

Michael Henry Yusingco, senior research fellow at Ateneo de Manila University Policy Center, told AFP he agreed with Sison.

“Dropping Articles I and IV (misuse of funds and the death threat) is bordering on prosecutorial misconduct. They’ve already presented evidence under these charges. And they’ve done this publicly, with attendant commentaries,” he said.

“Regardless of the prosecution’s reasons, dropping the charges clearly violates the right of the respondent to due process.”

The assassination charge stemmed from a late-night news briefing in which she claimed to have hired a hitman to kill President Ferdinand Marcos, his wife and a former congressman cousin should she be cut down first.

‘Character assassination’

Speaking before the impeachment court decision on Oct 13, Duterte told a press conference she believed prosecutors had sought to drop the bribery charge due to a lack of evidence.

“This is not about accountability but character assassination every day... and if they’re lucky, Sara Duterte will be removed from office,” she said.

In September, in a ruling widely seen as a blow to the vice-president, the 24-seat Senate approved a lower threshold of votes needed to find her guilty, potentially making it easier to execute her ouster.

With at least four senators loyal to the vice-president now absent from the trial – two in jail, another in hiding and a fourth on extended medical furlough abroad – only 14 votes are needed to find her guilty.

Senators voted that the constitutionally required two-thirds guilty verdict by “all members of the Senate” referred only to those “capable of participating”.

Despite her impeachment by the House of Representatives, Duterte remains firmly in the lead in polling for the 2028 presidential election, independent surveys show.

The Senate impeachment trial is now in recess until November. AFP