Sara Duterte Faces Impeachment Trial: What to Know

Vice President Sara Duterte is set to face trial before the Senate, which will convene as an impeachment court, following a second impeachment complaint filed against her by the House of Representatives. The trial is scheduled to commence on July 6 and is allocated 92 trial days. Duterte faces four Articles of Impeachment, accusing her of alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education (DepEd), unexplained wealth and failure to truthfully disclose assets in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) from 2022 to 2024, alleged bribery and procurement irregularities involving DepEd officials, and alleged assassination threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez. Under the Constitution, conviction requires the vote of at least two-thirds of all senator-judges. If convicted, Duterte faces possible removal from office and perpetual disqualification from holding any public office. Previously, the Commission on Audit (COA) in July 2023 flagged the Office of the Vice President's use of P125 million in confidential funds, which were fully spent within 11 days in late 2022. In December 2024, three impeachment complaints were filed, leading to an initial impeachment by the House in February 2025. However, in July 2025, the Supreme Court declared the impeachment complaint unconstitutional, citing the House's violation of the one-year bar rule by acting on multiple complaints within a year. In early 2026, new impeachment complaints were filed, incorporating similar allegations and an affidavit from a former aide identifying himself as Duterte's "bagman." On May 11, 2026, the House impeached Duterte for a second time and transmitted the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. One of the key issues to watch in the impeachment trial is the so-called "BIR Green Box," purportedly containing tax records of Duterte, her husband, and their companies. The box was transmitted to the Senate unsealed from the House proceedings. During pretrial proceedings, the prosecution sought to have the box opened and marked as evidence, which the defense objected to. Just before the trial, senator-judges decided to return the unopened box to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), stating it was evidence that had not been formally offered or admitted. The box is among the evidence the prosecution seeks to present in relation to Article II of the Articles of Impeachment, which accuses Duterte of amassing unexplained wealth disproportionate to her lawful income and failing to truthfully disclose her assets. The prosecution is expected to present its case starting with Article IV, covering alleged assassination plots and grave threats against the President and his family, followed by Article I on alleged misuse of confidential funds, Article III on alleged bribery and procurement irregularities, and concluding with Article II concerning unexplained wealth. Information Source: Inquirer NewsInfo