Manila, Philippines — On May 11, 2026, the House of Representatives formally impeached Vice President Sara Duterte in a 257-25-9 vote.
This marked the second time that Duterte was impeached by the Lower Chamber, following the first impeachment on February 5, 2025.
On the same day the impeachment articles were approved in the Congress, a change in leadership sparked in the Upper Chamber following the surprise coup triggered by Senator Ronald Bato Dela Rosa’s re-appearance after months of absence.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano hailed as the new Senate President, with the so-called Duterte bloc returning the majority.
Despite the worries, SP Cayetano maintained that the Senate leadership change has nothing to do with the impeachment trial, and that the majority will not interfere in the process.
On the night of May 13, amidst the tension in the Senate Premises, the impeachment articles were successfully transmitted to the Upper Chamber.
On May 18, the Senate officially convened as an impeachment court.
In line with the proceedings before the trial, the Senate sent out the summons for Duterte on May 20, giving her 10 days to respond and file her answer.
The impeachment trial will start by July 6.
If the Filipinos are asked, the majority of them expressed support to push through the impeachment trial.
Based on the latest study of OCTA Research for the month of April, 74% of Filipinos agree that Duterte should face the Senate trial.
This is equivalent to 7 out of every 10 Filipin—5% higher than the record in March.
In this data, Visayas had the highest number of agreements at 82%.
This was followed by the National Capital Region with 81%, 77% from Balance Luzon, and 58% in Mindanao.
Consequently, 21% disagreed with the premise—the highest from Mindanao with 41%, 18% in Visayas, 16% from NCR and 14% in Balance Luzon.
Meanwhile, 4% are undecided.
OCTA Research noted that these results reflect the public’s opinion on allowing the constitutional process of an impeachment trial.
It clarified however that this does not equate to the public’s judgement of guilt, conviction, or removal from office.—Mia Layaguin, Eurotv News