‘Now or never’: timing of impeaching Philippine VP Sara Duterte crucial, analysts say
Delaying impeachment proceedings, which can be highly politicised, is likely to bolster Duterte-Carpio’s 2028 presidential run, observers note
The impeachment of Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio is a “now or never” moment, observers say, amid hints of a “colourful week ahead” and the filing of two complaints to remove her from office.
Political risk analyst Ronald Llamas told This Week in Asia that the next few days would show whether the process would move forward in the House of Representatives and if it had the blessing of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr.
“Impeaching Sara is now or never,” said Llamas, who chairs the political risk firm Galahad Consulting Agency.
He explained that delaying impeachment proceedings until after the midterm elections in May would doom them “from the start” as Marcos Jnr would then be seen as “a lame-duck president” and attention would shift to the 2028 presidential election, which current surveys suggest Duterte-Carpio is the front runner.
Llamas noted that Congresswoman Amparo Zamora had on Monday hinted that “this week will be a colourful week and the next two weeks ahead” during a press conference on the possible impeachment of Duterte-Carpio.
The first impeachment complaint against Duterte-Carpio, filed on Monday by an alliance of civil society groups, accused the vice-president of corruption and violating the constitution by refusing to attend hearings on her budget in her capacity as vice-president and education minister, violating the country’s system of checks and balances. It also accused her of gross incompetence and dereliction of duty.
