Vice President Sara Duterte said her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, was “extremely proud” of her after the Senate voted to archive the articles of impeachment filed against her.
“The impeachment was not discussed. That’s what was said. Extremely proud. We did not talk after the dismissal of the impeachment,” Duterte said in an interview Wednesday, 27 August, in The Hague, Netherlands.
“Kitty was visiting, and she was the one who gave the news to President Duterte,” she added.
On 6 August, the Senate voted to transfer the articles of impeachment against the vice president to the archives, following the Supreme Court’s ruling declaring the impeachment unconstitutional.
The High Court clarified, however, that it was not absolving Duterte of the charges and that a new impeachment complaint may be filed starting 6 February, 2026.
The House of Representatives has filed a motion for reconsideration, arguing that it should be allowed to perform its exclusive duty to prosecute impeachable officials, with the Senate tasked to try the case.
Duterte’s camp has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the House appeal, maintaining the tribunal’s ruling that the impeachment complaint was unconstitutional.
Three complaints were filed against Duterte in December 2024 over alleged misuse of confidential funds. The fourth, endorsed by more than one-third of House members, was transmitted to the Senate as articles of impeachment.
On 5 February, the House impeached the vice president, with the majority voting to adopt the articles.
Duterte faces accusations of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes, including the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential and intelligence funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, which she concurrently headed.
Meanwhile, Duterte said she did not discuss her political future with her father.
“We did not talk about the 2028 elections,” she said. “Nothing about the future. No concrete plans. What we discussed were current events and possible things that may happen tomorrow, next year, or three years from now.”
She said her father was happy that all his children had visited him inside the International Criminal Court detention facility.
“He was happy. He had been told since Friday last week when three of us visited and was informed that one was left. By Wednesday this week, we had an approved visit with all four of us. He’s happy that he can talk to us,” she said.