Philippine House Passes Impeachment Case Against Vice President Sara, Dramatic Senate Leadership Change

On the 11th, the Philippine House of Representatives passed the impeachment case against Vice President Sara. The case will next be submitted to the Senate for trial. On the same day, Cayetano, who had served as foreign minister during former President Duterte's term, became the new President of the Philippine Senate.

The House held a plenary session that day, with 255 representatives voting in favor, 26 against, and 9 abstaining. This means that more than one-third of the representatives supported impeachment, reaching the constitutional threshold required for impeachment.

Sara is accused of alleged corruption, plotting assassination, inciting rebellion, and abuse of power.

Sara is the eldest daughter of former President Duterte and announced her candidacy for the 2028 Philippine presidential election this February. If, in the subsequent Senate trial, two-thirds of senators—that is, 16 senators—support the impeachment, she will be convicted and dismissed, and permanently barred from holding public office.

However, it is reported that, at present, an estimated 10 to 12 senators in the Senate clearly support or lean toward Sara, which is already more than the 9 votes needed to block impeachment.

On the same day, there was also a dramatic scene in the Philippine Senate. Before the impeachment vote in the House, a motion was put forward in the Senate to replace the president of the Senate, which was passed. Sotto is no longer the Senate president. Cayetano became the new President of the Senate. The 55-year-old former foreign minister is a veteran political figure in the Philippines and has served in multiple government, lower and upper house posts.

Cayetano was Duterte's running mate in the 2016 election and is considered a staunch ally of the Duterte family.

Sara was granted leave by the presidential palace, going abroad from May 2 to May 15; a few days ago, she visited former President Duterte, who is being held at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.

Former Philippine Police Chief Seeks Judicial Protection

On the 11th, Philippine senator and former national police chief under Duterte, Dela Rosa, sought judicial protection, asking the Philippine Supreme Court to immediately prevent authorities from arresting him or transferring him to the International Criminal Court.

Dela Rosa submitted a statement to the Supreme Court through his law office, requesting an immediate temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to prohibit his arrest, detention, extradition, or other measures without a valid Philippine judicial arrest warrant.

That day, agents of the National Bureau of Investigation attempted to arrest Dela Rosa inside the Senate building but were unsuccessful. Dela Rosa was placed under “protective custody” by the Senate several hours after participating in the vote to change the Senate president. The new Senate president, Cayetano, has ordered an investigation into the incident and had discussions with NBI director Madiwag, who said Dela Rosa would not be arrested for now but must cooperate with the investigation.

The International Criminal Court issued a statement on the 11th, publicly revealing an arrest warrant for Dela Rosa that had been secretly issued last November.