Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte gestures as she leaves the Hall of Justice in Quezon City, Metro Manila on September 11, 2026. (AFP File Photo)
A Philippine impeachment court on Oct. 13 granted prosecutors’ request to drop most of the charges against Vice President Sara Duterte at a trial that could still block her 2028 presidential bid.
Prosecutors, who had already moved last week to remove a bribery count, went further on Oct. 13 by seeking that allegations of misused funds and a death threat made against President Ferdinand Marcos also be eliminated.
Sara Duterte, daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, has been on trial before the Philippine Senate for months, and a conviction on any of four charges would see her barred from elected office permanently.
The court is still weighing the last remaining charge of unexplained wealth, and if found guilty she could be hit with a ban that would end her bid to become president in 2028.
“Articles 1, 3, and 4 shall no longer form part of the Articles of Impeachment... shall not be submitted to the members of the court for a vote or for a verdict of conviction or acquittal,” Senator and presiding officer Francis Escudero said in approving the motion.
The unexpected move by prosecutors on the trial’s 39th day came after they presented weeks of evidence backing the now-dismissed charges.
Chief prosecutor Gerville Luistro told the tribunal the decision would ease the court’s job and speed up the conclusion of the trial, which began on July 6.
