MANILA, Philippines – At least two impeachment complaints have been filed against Vice President Sara Duterte stemming from her verbal threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., alleged misuse of funds, and failure to condemn China’s bullying in the West Philippines Sea.

According to the Constitution, “a vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House shall be necessary either to affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee, or override its contrary resolution.”

Currently, the House has 307 members, which means at least 103 votes are needed for the case to be endorsed to the Senate.

“In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed,” says Sec 3 (3) of Article XI. 

The Senate will hold a full trial to decide all impeachment cases. If two-thirds of Senate members vote to convict an official, as outlined in the Articles of Impeachment, the official will be removed from office. This requires the approval of 16 out of the 23 senators. This also means that Duterte will only need 8 “no” votes to avoid conviction.

Who would replace Duterte if she is convicted in the impeachment case? In this video, Rappler’s Bonz Magsambol explains the impeachment process. – Rappler.com

Reporter: Bonz Magsambol
Producer/video editor: JC Gotinga
Production specialist: Ulysis Pontanares
Supervising producer: Beth Frondoso