On February 2, 2026, renewed efforts began to impeach Sara Duterte for a second time as Vice President of the Philippines, following her earlier impeachment by the House of Representatives on February 5, 2025. The earlier proceedings transmitted the articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial. However, when the Senate convened as an impeachment court on June 10, 2025, it remanded the articles back to the House.
In July 2025, the Supreme Court declared the impeachment complaint unconstitutional after ruling that earlier complaints had already triggered the one-year constitutional ban on multiple impeachment proceedings, effectively aborting the trial. Following the lapse of the one-year ban, at least two new impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte. The four impeachment complaints were formally initiated on February 23, 2026, after being referred to the House Committee on Justice.
On April 29, 2026, the House Committee on Justice, chaired by Gerville Luistro, voted unanimously (53–0) to find probable cause to impeach Duterte. The committee consolidated the complaints, including those filed by lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera and a group led by priests and lawyers, into a single set of articles of impeachment. Lawmakers cited allegations of misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, and threats against President Bongbong Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The consolidated articles were put to a plenary vote on May 11, 2026, during which 257 members of the House voted to impeach Duterte, thereby transmitting the articles of impeachment to the Senate. The Senate convened as an impeachment court on May 18, although the impeachment trial proper did not officially begin until July 6, 2026.
Background 2025 impeachment
Vice President Sara Duterte was initially impeached by the House of Representatives on February 5, 2025, and was backed by 215 members of the lower house, paving way for a potential trial by the Senate acting as an impeachment court. The impeachment complaint followed three earlier complaints in December 2024.
According to the rules of the House of Representatives, there are three methods to impeach an official:
A member of the House of Representatives files a verified complaint. A private citizen–upon a resolution of endorsement by any House member–files a verified complaint At least one-third of all House members will file verified complaint or resolution of impeachment
The 2025 impeachment of Duterte went through the third route.
Senate President Chiz Escudero maintained that the Senate cannot start the proceedings until after Congress reconvenes on June 2, 2025. The Senate did not start the trial despite proponents of the impeachment trial insisting that the Constitution obliges that a "trial by the Senate shall proceed forthwith," or as soon as possible. Pressure on the Senate persisted until at least June.
The trial formally commenced on June 10, 2025, with Escudero administering the oath to the rest of the 22 senators. The Senate, however, voted to remand the impeachment complaint back to the House of Representatives asking the chamber to certify the complaint as compliant with the one-year ban and communicating the yet to be-convened lower house of the 20th Congress if it is willing to move forward with the proceedings.
Duterte v. House of Representatives
The Supreme Court unanimously nullified the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte on July 25, 2025, ruling that the Articles of Impeachment were "unconstitutional". In Duterte v. House of Representatives (G.R. No. 278353), the Court held that the constitutional "one-year bar rule" had already been triggered by the first three impeachment complaints filed against Duterte in late 2024, rendering the fourth complaint endorsed by more than one-third of the House of Representatives on February 5, 2025, invalid.
The Court further ruled that constitutional due process and fairness apply throughout all stages of impeachment proceedings, including proceedings before the House of Representatives. The justices stated that although impeachment is political in character, it remains subject to constitutional limitations and standards of procedural fairness, including the respondent's right to adequate notice and opportunity to answer allegations.
As a result of the ruling, no impeachment trial before the Senate was held, with the Court ruling that the Senate could not acquire jurisdiction over unconstitutional Articles of Impeachment.
The House of Representatives filed a motion for reconsideration on August 4, 2025, arguing that the lower chamber possesses the exclusive constitutional authority to initiate impeachment proceedings. The House further cited Francisco v. House of Representatives, maintaining that impeachment proceedings are initiated only upon referral to the committee or endorsement by one-third of House members.
On January 28, 2026, the Supreme Court en banc denied the motion for reconsideration with finality and affirmed its earlier ruling. The Court additionally clarified that "session days" referred to calendar days during which the House actually holds session, rejecting interpretations limiting the term solely to legislative session days.
The ruling significantly affected subsequent impeachment efforts against Duterte. Following the expiration of the one-year constitutional prohibition on February 6, 2026, new impeachment complaints were refiled before the House under procedures adjusted to comply with the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution, particularly its emphasis on due process protections and procedural fairness in impeachment proceedings.
2026 efforts The impeachment proceedings are expected to take longer than last year. The complaints will be evaluated by the House of Representatives Committee on Justice whether such complaints are sufficient in substance.
It is unclear, however, when the one-year ban was counted from. The July 2025 ruling states that new impeachment complaints against Duterte can only be filed on February 6, 2026. However, the January 2026 resolution states "the 10 session days should be reckoned from the filing and endorsement of the first impeachment complaint on December 2, 2024," which meant that the first complaint was deemed initiated on January 14, 2025, which meant the prohibition lapsed on January 15, 2026.
Duterte formally announced her presidential campaign for the 2028 election on February 18, 2026.
Complaints # Case Violation 1 Systemic misuse, misappropriation and irregular liquidation of confidential funds amounting to ₱500,000,000.00 released to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and ₱112,500,000.00 released to the Department of Education (DEPED). Culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust 2a Amassed unexplained wealth manifestly disproportionate to her lawful income and earnings during her incumbency as public official. Betrayal of public trust and/or culpable violation of the constitution 2b Failed to fully and truthfully disclose all her and her spouse's asset's liabilities and net worth in her Statement of Asset's Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) including her SALN for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024. 2c Failed to divest and instead, willfully continued, all her business interests during her tenure as Vice President for the years 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. 3 Gave monetary gifts and payments to Department of Education officials to induce the violation and circumvention of procurement and other related laws. Bribery, graft and corruption, culpable violation of the constitution and betrayal of public trust 4 Contracting the assassination of the President, the First Lady and the Former Speaker of the House, by making grave threats, and by actively inciting sedition against the Republic. Culpable violation of the constitution, high crimes and betrayal of public trust
Filing
On February 2, 2026, two impeachment complaints was filed against Vice President Sara Duterte. The first came from the Makabayan bloc and the second came from a group led by Tindig Pilipinas, Akbayan and Mamamayang Liberal (ML). The two complaints were verified and transmitted to House speaker Bojie Dy on February 5. A third impeachment complaint by religious leaders against Duterte was filed on February 9. A fourth complaint was filed by lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera on February 18 and was transmitted to Dy's office the following day.
The four impeachment complaints all cites Duterte's alleged misuse of confidential funds, non-declaration of her assets, abuse of power, bribery, and threatening the lives of officials including President Marcos himself. The referral of the complaints to the House Committee on Justice on February 23, 2026, marked the official initiation of impeachment proceedings, activating the one-year ban on filing raps against the vice president.
The complaints cites the testimony of former Duterte aide Ramil Madriaga where he alleged the vice president ordered him to transport large amounts of money. + Verified impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte No. Petitioners Endorsers Status1 Makabayan 2 Tindig Pilipinas, Akbayan and Mamamayang Liberal 3 Religious sector led by Joel Saballa, et al. Leila de Lima (ML) 4 Nathaniel G. Cabrera
Vetting of complaints Sufficiency in form On March 2, 2026, the second complaint of Tindig, Akbayan and ML were withdrawn in a bid to expedite the impeachment process and threw support for the third impeachment complaint. The Makabayan bloc's impeachment complaint was set aside for allegedly violating the one-year bar rule with some lawmakers arguing that the earliest complaint could be filed after the 2025 impeachment was on February 6, 2026. The third and fourth complaints were ruled "sufficient in form".
Sufficiency in substance On March 4, 2026, the House Committee on Justice ruled that two impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte were sufficient in substance, allowing the proceedings to advance. Duterte was formally notified on March 5 and required to submit her response to the complaints within 10 days. Duterte filled her official response on March 16, and was allowed to make a response a day later since March 15 fell on a Sunday.
Sufficiency in grounds On March 18, 2026, the two impeachment complaints against Sara Duterte were found sufficient in grounds by the House Committee on Justice, authorizing Congress to proceed to a hearing proper. This came after the Vice President submitted her Answer Ad Cautelam, which the House panel noted failed to address the allegations against her.
Impeachment hearings On March 25, 2026, the House Committee on Justice began formal hearings on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte through the issuance of subpoena over the various documents and relevant testimonies of witnesses and government officials. Duterte and her legal team did not attend the proceedings, with her camp criticizing the hearings as politically motivated and accusing the House leadership of prioritizing impeachment over pressing national concerns.
The hearings focused on allegations involving betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, and alleged threats against President Bongbong Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez. The proceedings were conducted under procedures revised following the Supreme Court ruling in Duterte v. House of Representatives, which stressed that due process and procedural fairness must be observed throughout impeachment proceedings.
Day 1 (April 14)