Sara Duterte to be in Malaysia for ‘personal trip'
Amid the Senate's preparation to convene as an impeachment court, the Office of the Vice President on Tuesday confirmed that Vice President Sara Duterte is travelling to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a personal trip with her family.
While in Malaysia, the OVP said that Duterte is scheduled to attend the Independence Day celebration and engage in a program consultation with overseas Filipino workers on June 12.
Senate President Francis Escudero on Monday night took his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court in the trial of Duterte.
The Senate also adopted Senator Joel Villanueva's motion that the rest of the senators take their oaths as senator-judges in the impeachment trial at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
After the senators take their oaths, the court would be constituted but not yet convened, Villanueva said in his motion, which was approved.
The Senate also voted unanimously to refer the verified impeachment complaint against Duterte to the committee on rules.
Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives on February 5, with over 200 lawmakers endorsing the complaint against her. She was accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes. — AOL, GMA Integrated News
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
an hour ago
- GMA Network
DMW helping 3 OFWs amid Northern Ireland riots
Philippines flags placed on the door of a house, following riots in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/ Clodagh Kilcoyne The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Thursday said the agency is assisting three Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) due to the threat of ongoing riots in Northern Ireland. DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the concerned OFWs were not hurt but their community was under threat or possibly in danger, according to a report of Super Radyo dzBB's Mark Makalalad. 3 overseas Filipino worker (OFW) sa Northern Ireland, tinutulungan ng Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) dahil sa nangyaring riot; sitwasyon sa immigration protests sa California, tinututukan din. | via @MMakalalad — DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) June 12, 2025 The DMW said it is taking steps to ensure the safety of the OFWs. Reuters on Thursday reported that some Filipino families fled from their home in Northern Irish after a night of anti-immigrant violence. Michael Sancio, a resident of Ballymena town, said he woke up Tuesday midnight by masked men banging loudly on windows. Sancio, his wife and daughter, and another couple who share their house grabbed their passports and a few belongings before fleeing their residence. They slept at a friend's house and plan to stay further outside the town because they feel unsafe at their home. Hundreds of masked rioters attacked police and set homes and cars on fire in the town of 30,000 people for a second successive night on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Authorities are investigating the damaging of property as racially-motivated 'hate crimes." The rioting began after two 14-year-old boys were arrested and appeared in court after being accused of a serious sexual assault on a teenage girl in Ballymena. The charges were read to the boys via a Romanian interpreter, the BBC reported. A lawyer told the court that the two teenagers denied the accusation and they were remanded in custody until July 2. —RF, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
4 hours ago
- GMA Network
House yet to transmit impeach raps certification of constitutionality to Senate
The House of Representatives has yet to transmit to the Senate its resolution certifying that the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte complied with the 1987 Constitution. 'It was decided by the House leadership that the secretary general can issue the certification, maybe for everyone's appeasement. But, it does not necessarily mean that we will transmit such certification to the Senate,' House Impeachment Prosecutor Ysabel Maria Zamora of San Juan City told reporters in an ambush interview on Thursday. Zamora added that the House Prosecution Panel has also yet to discuss when to transmit the certification to the Senate as she emphasized they are not defying the Impeachment Court's order but merely "seeking clarification." 'We are giving the message that we follow the rules, we follow the Constitution and we are wondering why they issued such resolution. We are actually asking them why they are questioning our procedures when the mere fact that we transmitted the Articles of Impeachment showed that we followed the procedures in the House, with the procedures laid in the Constitution,' Zamora added. The resolution was adopted on Wednesday night on the last session day of the 19th Congress. Zamora, however, reiterated the House Prosecution Panel's stand that the Senate Impeachment Court cannot remand or return the Articles of Impeachment to the House of Representatives. 'Yun po ang aming stand: wala silang authority to remand the Articles of Impeachment… Ang nakalagay sa Constitution natin, once the Articles of Impeachment has been transmitted by the House of Representatives to the Senate, then the Senate shall conduct trial forthwith,' Zamora explained. Escudero Meanwhile, Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero, who sits as presiding officer of the impeachment court, also confirmed on Thursday that the Senate has yet to receive any pleading from the House of Representatives regarding the impeachment. This, as he reiterated that the House prosecution panel has no option but to accept the returned articles of impeachment. "'Yun ang pasya ng impeachment court bilang mga taga-usig. Dapat nilang galangin at sundin 'yun. Kapareho sa parte ni VP Sara, dapat galangin at sundin rin niya ang summons na in-issue ng impeachment court," he added. (That's the decision of the impeachment court as judges. The House should respect and obey that. Likewise, on the part of VP Sara, she should also respect and obey the summons issued by the impeachment court.) Escudero also emphasized that communications regarding the impeachment should be submitted through pleadings and not through social media, press conferences, or press releases. 'Clarification' Zamora also expressed "concerns" over the Senate Impeachment Court's cancellation of the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment by the House Prosecution Panel. 'Baka nga ma-technical kami. Maybe hindi kami mag-present dahil sinabi nila in their session tapos mababaligtarin eventually. So we just want maybe a written clarification from them just to clear everything,' Zamora said Zamora, meanwhile, thanked House Speaker Martin Romualdez's speech at the closing of session of the 19th Congress after he described the impeachment court's move as "deeply concerning." 'We appreciate his message and it shows that the House is strong and committed to pursue this impeachment case,' Zamora said. She also stated that the speaker has not issued any directive to the House Prosecution Panel regarding the impeachment. 'Honestly, wala pong orders. We are grateful that he has allowed us to do our job by ourselves… Speaker is a lawyer himself and sometimes he would have inputs but this is really on how we will present our case,' Zamora said. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
6 hours ago
- GMA Network
VP Sara: Let's not surrender our freedom to 'traitors'
Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday called on the nation not to surrender its freedom to traitors and those who do not care about the country. 'Hindi tayo lumaya para muling mawalan ng karapatan at maging alipin ng iilan. Ipinagmalaki natin sa mundo ang kalayaan ng mga Pilipino. Huwag nating isuko ang kalayaang ito sa mga taksil at walang malasakit sa ating mamamayan at sa ating bayan,' Duterte said in a video message for the country's 127th Independence Day. (We didn't become free only to lose our rights again and be slaves to others. We boast of our freedom to the world. Let us not surrender this freedom to traitors and those who have no regard for our people and our country.) Duterte, who is currently in Malaysia for a personal trip with her family, emphasized that the freedom that Filipinos enjoy today is the result of the love of the national heroes for the country. 'Paglapastangan sa alaala ng ating mga bayani ang pagyakap sa kultura ng pagkaalipin. Paglapastangan sa diwa ng kalayaan ang pagsasawalang bahala sa paghihirap ng maraming pamilyang Pilipino at ang paglabag sa mga karapatan at sa batas,' said Duterte. (Embracing the culture of slavery is disrespect to the memory of our heroes. Ignoring the suffering of many Filipino families and violating our rights and the law is disrespect to our freedom.) According to the Office of the Vice President (OVP), Duterte is scheduled within the day to attend the Independence Day celebration and engage in a program consultation with overseas Filipino workers in Malaysia. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
