Philippine lawmakers from lower house back move to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, whose father is a former president, has been impeached by the House of Representatives after more than the required number of legislators signed a petition to remove her from office, an official said Wednesday.

House of Representatives Secretary General Reginald Velasco told a plenary meeting of the lower chamber of Congress that at least 215 lawmakers have signed a petition to impeach Duterte, more than enough to consider her impeached by the House.

With enough endorsements by House legislators, the impeachment complaint was ordered transmitted to the Senate, which will serve as an impeachment tribunal that would try the vice president, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

The vice president and her father have been politically at odds with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his camp, including a majority of House legislators.

The vice president, regarded as a possible presidential candidate after Marcos’s term ends in 2028, has faced at least four impeachment complaints by several groups over a range of issues, including a death threat she made against the president last year, irregularities in the use of her office’s intelligence funds and her failure to stand up to Chinese aggression in the disputed South China Sea.