Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte stated Tuesday that she anticipates being "bloodied but unbowed" as her impeachment trial commences in the Senate. The trial began Monday, with the Senate acting as an impeachment court.
Duterte, who has declared her intention to succeed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2028, was impeached by the House of Representatives in May. Allies of Marcos dominate the House. Duterte has characterized the charges against her as political persecution.
On Tuesday, the impeachment court addressed the first of four primary charges, which alleges that Duterte threatened in November 2024 to have President Marcos, his wife, and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez killed by an unspecified individual if she were harmed amid escalating disputes. Evidence presented included a video where Duterte purportedly made the threat, emphasizing it was not a joke and that the individual she enlisted had agreed to her plan. Another video showed her expressing a desire to "cut off the president’s head."
"In this bloodbath and bludgeoning, I will be bloodied but unbowed," Duterte told reporters Tuesday at the Senate, where she briefly appeared before the trial resumed. She declined to answer media questions but has previously denied allegations including amassing unexplained wealth, misusing confidential funds, corruption, bribery, and inciting sedition, without providing specific details.
Duterte and Marcos were elected in 2022 on a joint ticket, forming an alliance between two prominent political families that quickly dissolved. Supporters of Duterte accuse Marcos and his close aides of orchestrating her impeachment and hindering her presidential ambitions through political persecution.
Separately, three senators allied with Duterte are facing legal difficulties. Two senators have been arrested and detained on suspicion of large-scale corruption, and a third has gone into hiding following an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his arrest. The ICC alleges he was a co-conspirator with former President Rodrigo Duterte, the vice president's father, in crimes against humanity, stemming from anti-drug crackdowns between 2011 and 2019 that resulted in thousands of deaths. Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to face trial at the ICC on November 30.
Justice officials and state prosecutors maintain that the legal issues facing the three senators are supported by substantial evidence and are unrelated to the vice president's impeachment proceedings. Sara Duterte has blamed Marcos for her father's arrest and extradition to the ICC.
Convicting the vice president would require the support of two-thirds of the 24-member Senate, or 16 votes, and would significantly impede her declared presidential aspirations. Even if acquitted in the impeachment trial, Duterte could still face criminal charges similar to those in the impeachment case, including large-scale corruption, which are currently under investigation by anti-graft prosecutors.