Vice President Sara Duterte is the first Philippine official to be impeached twice — and is now on trial before the Senate for the second time, after her first impeachment was struck down by the Supreme Court. Here’s the full, sourced timeline of how the case got here, and where it stands now.
Note: This is a developing legal and political story. The claims below are allegations under formal proceedings — Duterte has not been convicted of any charge, and her defense team disputes the prosecution’s case. This article will be updated as the trial continues.
QUICK SUMMARY
| Who | Vice President Sara Duterte |
| What | Second impeachment trial, ongoing before the Senate impeachment court |
| Articles of Impeachment | 4 (confidential funds misuse, unexplained wealth/SALN violations, bribery/procurement irregularities, alleged assassination threats) |
| First impeached | February 5, 2025 — later voided by the Supreme Court |
| Second impeached | May 11, 2026 |
| Trial began | July 6, 2026 |
| Presiding officer | Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero (elected by the impeachment court, not the sitting Senate President) |
| Lead prosecutor | Rep. Gerville Luistro |
| Conviction threshold | Two-thirds vote of all senator-judges (16 of 24) |
| Possible penalty if convicted | Removal from office and perpetual disqualification from public office |
FULL TIMELINE
The First Impeachment (2024–2025)
December 2–19, 2024 — Three separate impeachment complaints are filed against Duterte before the House of Representatives by private individuals and groups, citing the alleged misuse of confidential funds and a November 2024 press conference in which Duterte discussed a threat against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-Speaker Martin Romualdez.
February 5, 2025 — The House impeaches Duterte through a fast-track process, with 215 members voting in favor. The complaint is transmitted to the Senate.
June 10, 2025 — The Senate convenes as an impeachment court but votes to remand the articles back to the House pending questions about their constitutionality.
July 25, 2025 — The Supreme Court, voting 13-0 with two justices not participating, declares the Articles of Impeachment unconstitutional. The Court rules that the House violated the Constitution’s one-year bar rule (Article XI, Section 3(5)), which prohibits initiating more than one impeachment proceeding against the same official within a year, since the four complaints combined effectively amounted to multiple proceedings. The Court also finds a due-process violation, and notes explicitly that its ruling does not absolve Duterte of the underlying allegations — only that this particular process was constitutionally flawed. The ruling states any new complaint could only be filed starting February 6, 2026.
August 6, 2025 — The Senate votes 19-4 to archive the impeachment case.
The Second Impeachment (2026)
January–February 2026 — New impeachment complaints begin circulating, including one that cites an affidavit from Ramil Madriaga, identified as a former aide to Duterte who described himself as her “bagman.”
February 23, 2026 — Four new complaints are formally referred to the House Committee on Justice.
March 2, 2026 — Committee hearings begin, assessing whether the complaints are sufficient in form and substance. The panel later sets aside one complaint and notes another was withdrawn.
March 16, 2026 — Duterte’s camp submits a consolidated answer to the remaining complaints.
April 29, 2026 — The House Committee on Justice, chaired by Rep. Gerville Luistro, votes 53-0 to find probable cause, consolidating the complaints into a single set of four Articles of Impeachment.
May 4, 2026 — The full committee report is approved 55-0, sending the Articles to a plenary vote.
May 11, 2026 — The House votes 257-25 (with 9 present and 27 not voting) to impeach Duterte for a second time, making her the first Philippine official impeached twice.
May 13, 2026 — The House formally transmits the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate.
May 18, 2026 — The Senate convenes as an impeachment court, with Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian presiding.
July 6, 2026 — The trial proper begins. Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian opens the session, then calls for the election of a presiding officer under a Senate rule amended on June 3, 2026, which allows a senator other than the sitting Senate President to preside over an impeachment trial that isn’t a presidential one. The court elects Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, 12-8, over objections from the Cayetano-led minority bloc. Escudero — who had also presided over Duterte’s first impeachment trial back when he himself was Senate President in 2025 — will run the day-to-day proceedings going forward, while Gatchalian retains the Senate presidency. The Senate has approved 92 trial days for the proceedings.
July 6–8, 2026 — Duterte-allied lawyers, led by Israelito Torreon, file an urgent motion with the Supreme Court challenging the validity of Escudero’s election and the June 3 rule change, arguing the session that amended the rules lacked a quorum. The challenge does not halt the trial.
July 20, 2026 (Day 7) — The impeachment court grants subpoenas for Duterte’s and her husband Manases Carpio’s bank, AMLC, and tax records, over defense objections.
July 29, 2026 (Day 10) — The prosecution begins presenting evidence under Article I, covering the alleged confidential funds misuse.
August 3–5, 2026 (Days 11–13) — Commission on Audit witnesses testify on alleged documentation deficiencies in OVP and DepEd confidential fund liquidations. On August 5, the Supreme Court En Banc dismisses consolidated petitions from Duterte and other lawyers seeking to stop the trial, ruling the petitions moot since the House had already transmitted the Articles to the Senate.
August 10, 2026 — Trial proceedings are postponed after Senate President Gatchalian cancels the session and orders the plenary suspended amid heavy rains and flooding in Metro Manila, with government offices shifting to work-from-home arrangements.
THE FOUR ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT
- Article I: Alleged misuse of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds — ₱500 million from the Office of the Vice President and ₱112.5 million from the Department of Education during Duterte’s tenure as education secretary.
- Article II: Alleged unexplained wealth and failure to truthfully disclose assets in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) from 2022 to 2024, along with an alleged failure to divest business interests.
- Article III: Alleged bribery and procurement irregularities involving Department of Education officials.
- Article IV: Alleged assassination threats against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez, tied to Duterte’s November 2024 public statements.
WHO’S INVOLVED
- Presiding officer: Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, elected by the impeachment court on July 6, 2026 to run day-to-day proceedings
- Senate President (sitting): Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian, who opened the trial and retains the Senate presidency but does not preside over daily proceedings
- House prosecution panel: Led by Rep. Gerville Luistro, with Reps. Kaka Bag-ao, Joel Chua, Leila de Lima, Lorenz Defensor, Chel Diokno, Jonathan Keith Flores, Rodge Gutierrez, Terry Ridon, Lordan Suan, and Bel Zamora
- Defense counsel: Litigator Sheila Sison, leading Duterte’s legal team
- Senator-judges: All 24 members of the Senate sit as judges; conviction on any article requires at least 16 votes
FAQS
Her first impeachment (February 2025) was struck down by the Supreme Court in July 2025 for violating the constitutional one-year bar rule and due-process protections. A second, separately filed set of complaints led to her second impeachment in May 2026.
No. The Court’s 2025 ruling addressed only the constitutionality of the process used, and explicitly stated it was not absolving Duterte of the underlying allegations.
Conviction on any single article requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate (16 of 24 senator-judges) and would result in removal from office and permanent disqualification from holding public office.
Yes, as of this writing. The Senate has allotted up to 92 trial days, and proceedings are continuing through witness testimony and evidence presentation on Article I.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Sara Duterte’s impeachment saga has already run through a full House vote, a Senate remand, a Supreme Court reversal, and a second full impeachment process — and the Senate trial itself is still in its early-to-middle stages, with dozens of trial days remaining under the approved schedule. We’ll keep this timeline updated as the case develops.
This is a living article — we will update the timeline as new trial days, rulings, or developments occur. Given the sensitivity and legal stakes of this case, all claims are attributed to the relevant proceedings and should not be read as a determination of guilt or innocence.
SOURCES / FOOTNOTES
- Supreme Court of the Philippines, “SC: House impeachment complaint vs VP Duterte barred by 1-year rule…”.
- Philippine News Agency, “House impeaches VP Sara Duterte with 257 votes”.
- Philippine Daily Inquirer, “Impeached anew: House OKs articles vs Sara Duterte again with 257 votes”, May 2026.
- Philippine Daily Inquirer, “Sara Duterte Impeachment Trial: Everything you need to know”, July 2026.
- Rappler, “SC latest ruling: Bad news for Duterte’s impeachment battle”, August 2026.
- GMA News Online, “LIVE UPDATES: Sara Duterte Impeachment Trial (August 5, 2026)”.
- Philstar.com, “Impeachment trial paused for Aug. 10 as Senate shifts to WFH”.
- Rappler, “Chiz Escudero elected as presiding officer in Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial”, July 2026.
- Philippine Daily Inquirer, “Escudero elected to preside over Duterte impeachment trial”, July 2026.
- Wikipedia, “Impeachment trial of Sara Duterte”, “First impeachment of Sara Duterte”, “Second impeachment of Sara Duterte”.
Note: Given the fast-moving nature of this trial, verify trial-day numbers and the latest procedural status against a current wire source (PNA, Inquirer, GMA, Rappler) immediately before publishing.
