Rowegie Abanto

Vice President Sara Duterte holds a press conference, February 7, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File

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Vice President Sara Duterte 

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17690602031421769060200696.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Vice President Sara Duterte holds a press conference, February 7, 2025. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — A new impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte could backfire if it is filed only to hurt her chances at being elected president, a University of the Philippines law professor said Thursday.</p><p>Duterte, widely viewed as a strong contender in the upcoming 2028 presidential elections, faces a possible fresh impeachment case, as the one-year ban on new complaints against her expires on February 6.</p><p>The vice president has floated the idea but has not said outright that she will run for president.</p><p>The reality that impeachment may be used &quot;as a way to undermine&quot; Duterte&#x27;s potential run for the presidency cannot be removed, UP College of Law Assistant Professor Paolo Tamase said.</p><p>&quot;I think, regardless of that risk, it is important to talk about whether the vice president committed impeachable offenses during her term and [whether she] should continue in office,&quot; he told ANC.</p><p>The House of Representatives <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/2/5/house-impeaches-vp-sara-duterte-1551">impeached Duterte in February last year</a> over supposed corruption, conspiracy to assassinate her former ally President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings in Davao City.</p><p>The Supreme Court blocked her Senate trial and declared the impeachment unconstitutional for violating the prohibition against multiple impeachment proceedings in a single year. The court has <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/14/can-congress-tackle-possible-twin-impeachment-of-marcos-duterte-lawyers-weigh-in-1327">yet to resolve</a> the motions for reconsideration on the decision.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;IT MIGHT GAIN HER SYMPATHY&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>But Tamase warned that if the only purpose of a fresh impeachment complaint is to undermine the vice president&#x27;s potential presidential run, &quot;then it is surely likely to backfire.&quot;</p><p>A conviction by the Senate impeachment court would see Duterte removed from her post as vice president, and it could also permanently disqualify her from holding any public office.</p><p>&quot;If it becomes clearer that the complaint against her is not strong or that there is no evidence to actually prove that she committed the impeachable offense, then the people, her supporters, and people on the fence — and polls would show that there is quite a large amount of undecided voters as of this point, two years out of the next election, then it might gain her sympathy as a victim of political prosecution,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;So it&#x27;s important to hold the vice president, and important to hold any public officer accountable, but we should be careful about the use of the process, changing it from an accountability-based process to more of a political persecution.&quot;</p><p>On Monday, Duterte said she was expecting the possible filing of a fresh impeachment complaint against her, which she claimed was a <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/20/sara-duterte-says-possible-fresh-impeachment-move-against-her-all-about-money-1320">&quot;fundraising&quot; effort</a> of House lawmakers.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/21/trillanes-group-file-plunder-graft-raps-vs-vp-sara-duterte-1144">VP Sara Duterte faces plunder, graft raps at Ombudsman</a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/22/second-impeachment-complaint-vs-marcos-1118">Second Marcos impeachment complaint hits snag</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iGQM_A3qViI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>A new impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte could backfire if it would only be used to hurt her chances at being elected president, a University of the Philippines law professor said Thursday.</p>

A new impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte could backfire if it would only be used to hurt her chances at being elected president, a University of the Philippines law professor said Thursday.

New impeach bid vs VP Sara may backfire if meant only to hurt 2028 run — UP prof

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New impeach bid vs VP Sara may backfire if meant only to hurt 2028 run — UP prof

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 22, 2026 02:22 PM PHT

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