Latest news with #SaraDuterteCarpio
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Sara Duterte impeachment ruling sparks constitutional storm in Philippines
Monday's opening of the Philippines ' Congress has been thrown into chaos by a Supreme Court ruling that effectively killed the long-awaited impeachment trial of Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio. Advertisement The Supreme Court's decision, delivered late on Friday , quashed the Senate's long-delayed trial on a technicality, ruling that the impeachment violated the constitutional 'one-year rule' against multiple proceedings within a year for the same official. The fallout has cast a pall over what would otherwise have been a self-congratulatory celebration, in the form of the president's state of the nation address to Congress on Monday. On Sunday, the presidential palace issued a statement stating that President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr 's administration 'respects but disagrees with the ruling'. The 15-member court's decision does not exonerate Duterte-Carpio, nor does it bar future impeachment attempts, but – if followed – it effectively postpones any new proceedings until 2026. Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio speaks during a press conference in Manila on February. Photo: AP Of the 14 justices who concurred, 12 were appointed by the vice-president's father, former leader Rodrigo Duterte . Justice Marvic Leonen, who delivered the majority opinion, was appointed by the late president Benigno Aquino. Even Marcos' lone appointee joined the majority. Only one justice abstained, citing 'official business'. Advertisement
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Philippine court stops VP Sara Duterte's impeachment, raising ‘more questions than answers'
The Philippine Supreme Court has derailed the impeachment trial of Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio over a procedural flaw, a landmark ruling that legal observers warn avoids the substance of the allegations and risks leaving the public with more questions than answers. Advertisement In a unanimous 15–0 ruling delivered on Friday, the court found that the impeachment complaint endorsed by the House earlier this year violated the 'one-year rule' under the 1987 constitution, which prohibits multiple impeachment proceedings against the same official within a 12-month period. While both chambers of Congress said they would not appeal against the decision, the House of Representatives immediately vowed to refile the impeachment complaint early next year. The full ruling has yet to be released, but court spokeswoman Camille Ting said the justices concluded that due process 'applies during all stages of the impeachment process' and reminded the House that 'there is a right way to do the right things at the right time'. 'Our fundamental law is clear. The end of it does not justify the means,' Ting quoted the court as saying. Advertisement She did not elaborate on how the House had run afoul of the one-year rule, but said the violation meant the Senate 'could not acquire jurisdiction over the impeachment proceedings'.
South China Morning Post
24-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Australia eyed for Duterte's possible interim release from The Hague detention
Philippines ' Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio said her father's lawyers were looking at Australia for his release to a third-party country, The Philippine Star newspaper reported on Tuesday. Duterte has been detained in The Hague since March over alleged crimes linked to his administration's 'war on drugs', a campaign that resulted in thousands of deaths among suspected drug dealers and users. The former president, who claimed the arrest was unlawful and equal to kidnapping, has petitioned the ICC for an interim release to another country earlier this month, according to his lawyer. Play Duterte-Carpio flew to Melbourne last Tuesday for a week-long visit which she said was a 'personal trip' instead of a holiday or to scout for a possible location for her father if he was released. 'I am not here for the interim release, not for this visit,' she said on Sunday, according to ABS-CBN News. 'I am here to discuss with the Filipino community on ways forward for our country, and of course how we can push the administration to do more for our country.'
South China Morning Post
23-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Sara Duterte warns against Marcos' US pivot, ‘leaning' on a foreign power
The Philippines ' Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio has called on the country to steer away from its 'unbalanced' foreign policy in an implicit criticism of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr , as she offered her clearest indication yet of where she stands on China. In a speech delivered to a group of Filipinos at the Parliament Gardens in Melbourne on Sunday, Duterte-Carpio warned against leaning on 'a foreign power' and allowing its weapons systems to be deployed in the Philippines, calling such moves contrary to the constitutional requirement of an independent foreign policy. Although she did not specifically name it, her speech made a clear reference to the US military's Medium Range Capability (MRC) missile system – also known as Typhon – which has been stationed in northern Luzon since last year. There have also been discussions regarding Manila hosting more of the launchers. The ground-based launcher can fire Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles with ranges of up to 2,000km, which puts parts of the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and even southern China within striking range. Beijing has called the Typhon's deployment provocative and dangerous on multiple occasions, saying it could fuel an arms race and destabilise Southeast Asia. In May, Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian called it 'a strategic offensive weapon' that 'brings huge risks of war into the region'. The stationing of the US-made Medium Range Capability (MRC) missile system, or Typhon, in the Philippines has triggered objections from China. Handout via US Army/RCCTO During her speech, Duterte-Carpio said: 'It is stated in our constitution that we should have an independent foreign policy that does not lean towards a foreign power, that does not favour the US or does not favour China.'
South China Morning Post
11-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
How Philippines' Sara Duterte won round 1 of impeachment battle
Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio has won round one of her impeachment battle after her allies in the Senate tossed back the bid to the Lower House on claims it was 'defective' and 'unconstitutional'. The unprecedented move on Tuesday, which was settled by a vote of 18-5, has triggered an intense debate online about the senators' actions and Duterte-Carpio's political future. 'I think, for now, Sara has momentum even if the president still has three years left in his term of office,' political risk analyst Rolando Llamas told This Week in Asia, referring to the country's leader, Ferdinand Marcos Jnr. There has been widespread speculation that Duterte-Carpio is expected to contest the 2028 presidential election, and her ally, Senator Ronald 'Bato' Dela Rosa, told his colleagues on Tuesday that the impeachment trial was meant to derail that. But whether she could clinch the presidency even if she were to escape impeachment would depend on her support from youth and millennial voters, with these groups seen as more demanding of accountability from officials, according to Llamas. This demographic enabled the Akbayan party list group to unexpectedly win the recent Senate midterm elections, with Francis Pangilinan and Bam Aquino, two opposition senators who are not allied with either the Duterte family or Marcos Jnr, coming into office, according to Llamas.
