Sara Duterte expects impeachment trial, says it may reach 2028
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte said she is still preparing for her impeachment trial as she expects the House of Representatives to be persistent in kicking her out of the 2028 presidential race.
In an ambush interview on Tuesday, September 16, reporters asked Duterte whether she “expects” her trial to push through, even after the Senate under Escudero’s leadership archived the articles of impeachment.
“Are you still expecting na matutuloy siya (the trial) or are you still preparing your defense?” a reporter asked.
“Oh yes, kasi kung hindi man ‘yan matuloy ngayon 2025, I’m sure magfafile ‘yan 2026 or magfafile 2027 or even siguro 2028, right before the presidential elections,” Duterte answered.
(Oh yes, because if the impeachment trial does not take place in 2025, I’m sure someone will file again in 2026 or in 2027, even maybe 2028, right before the presidential elections.)
She believes her impeachment is a political strategy her critics are using to keep her out of the running, saying it is “all about the presidential elections of 2028.”
Duterte surprisingly mentioned her impeachment trial during the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) hearing for its proposed 2026 budget.
She invoked the impeachment card when two minority lawmakers questioned her office’s confidential fund use in 2022, particularly the P73 million that the Commission on Audit disallowed and deemed irregular.
It was among the evidence the House cited when they impeached Duterte in February 2025, which also included the allegations of ghost beneficiaries of confidential funds worth at least P254.9 million.
“I cannot discuss defense strategy. I cannot explain intelligence operations without compromising national security. … This is the subject of an impeachment trial, and I would not like to discuss the defense for the impeachment trial,” she said at the budget hearing.
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The Senate voted 19-4-1 in favor of sending the articles of impeachment to the archives after the Supreme Court ruled Duterte’s impeachment “unconstitutional” in violation of the one-year bar rule and “due process grounds.”
This means the Senate would have to vote for the retrieval of impeachment articles should they deem it necessary to pursue the trial.
Some legal experts and analysts, however, believe archiving the impeachment is the same as killing it.
The upper chamber came up with this decision even after the House filed a motion for reconsideration, which rendered the Supreme Court ruling not final.
RELATED: Sara Duterte's impeachment archived: Senate 'adheres' to Supreme Court ruling
Duterte stands accused of the culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, including other high crimes like bribery and conspiracy to murder in her impeachment.
If the Supreme Court rules in finality that the vice president’s impeachment truly is unconstitutional, despite citing inaccurate facts, the House may refile the impeachment complaint no earlier than Feb. 6, 2026.
This would exactly be one year after Duterte was impeached, following the constitutional rule that no impeachment proceedings could be initiated against the same public official within the same year.
The House prosecution team, however, argued that only one impeachment was initiated against Duterte, with the first three complaints filed sent to the archives first before endorsing the fourth complaint.
RELATED: Duterte’s defense: Sara's 3 arguments in responding to the impeachment case
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