By Karen Lema
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ lower house has impeached Vice President Sara Duterte, the daughter of the country’s firebrand former president, setting the stage for a rare, high-profile trial in the Senate.
Here are details on the trial, previous cases and the next steps in the impeachment, according to the constitution:
HOW WILL THE TRIAL BE CONDUCTED?
The lower house has already appointed members to serve as prosecutors and the Senate will convene as an impeachment court, where Duterte will have the right to a legal defence. The 24 senators will serve as judges with the president of the Senate presiding over the proceedings.
WHEN WILL THE TRIAL BEGIN?
Although the impeachment complaint against Duterte was transmitted to the Senate on February 5, the upper house can only act on it on June 2, when Congress resumes after midterm elections, according to Senate President Francis Escudero.
Twelve of the 24 seats in the Senate will be decided in the May election.
WHAT IS THE VICE PRESIDENT CHARGED WITH?
The impeachment complaint alleges that Duterte is guilty of violating the constitution, graft and corruption, other high crimes, and betraying public trust. She is accused of misusing public funds while vice president and education minister, amassing unexplained wealth, and threatening the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the first lady and the lower house speaker. She has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
HOW LONG WILL THE TRIAL LAST?
The duration of an impeachment trial in the Philippines is not fixed, and depends on a host of factors like the complexity of the case, number of witnesses and volume of evidence presented. For instance, the 2012 impeachment trial of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona lasted five months.
WHAT IS REQUIRED TO CONVICT AN IMPEACHED OFFICIAL?
A two-thirds majority vote in the Senate is needed to convict an impeached official. This means at least 16 out of 24 senators must vote in favour of conviction for it to pass.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE SENATE CONVICTS DUTERTE?
If convicted, Duterte would be removed from office and disqualified from holding any future government position, which would kill off any potential bid for the presidency.
WHO BECOMES VICE PRESIDENT IF DUTERTE IS DISMISSED?
If the vice president is removed, the president will nominate a successor from among members of the Senate and House of Representatives. The nominee must be confirmed by a majority vote in both chambers, voting separately.
HOW MANY OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN IMPEACHED IN THE PHILIPPINES?
Sara Duterte is the fifth top official in the Philippines to be impeached, after former President Joseph Estrada, an ombudsman, former Supreme Court chief justice Corona, and a former chairman of the election commission. Only Corona was convicted, with the former ombudsman and election commission chief resigning after they were impeached and Estrada’s trial aborted after some prosecutors walked out.
(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Martin Petty and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
