MANILA: The Philippine Senate, sitting as an impeachment court on Monday, opened the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, who if convicted faces a ban from holding public office that could derail her ambitions to become president in 2028. The high-stakes trial comes against a turbulent political backdrop, just days after chaos and a shootout in the upper house and a decisive change in its leadership, both stemming from the dramatic re-emergence from hiding of a pro-Duterte senator wanted by the International Criminal Court.

“The trial of Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte is hereby open,” said the Senate’s new president, Alan Peter Cayetano. Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who is accused by the ICC of crimes against humanity over his role in a bloody “war on drugs”, made a timely reappearance at the upper house on May 11 after six months in hiding, helping to install Duterte loyalist Cayetano as Senate president, placing him in a position to preside over the trial. Sara Duterte, 47, was given 10 days to respond to accusations she misused public funds, amassed unexplained wealth, and threatened the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the first lady, and a former House speaker.

The court did not set a date for the start of trial hearings. Duterte, who in February announced she will contest the next presidency, has denied wrongdoing and has called the impeachment effort politically motivated.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2026