Can Philippines VP Duterte survive impeachment with ex-president father as her lawyer?

Analysts say Rodrigo Duterte’s offer to be legal counsel for her cases is aimed at leveraging his influence over the public and lawmakers

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Ex-Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte (left) and his daughter Sara Duterte arrive for the opening of the Boao Forum for Asia on June 19. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:47pm, 27 Dec 2024Updated: 1:48pm, 27 Dec 2024

Facing three impeachment complaints over alleged misuse of confidential funds, Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio has enlisted her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, as legal counsel, in what analysts say is a tactical move to leverage his enduring public influence to sway lawmakers and public opinion.

Duterte-Carpio revealed on Wednesday that her father offered his services after she refused his financial help.

“[Rodrigo] said that since I would not accept money from him, he would serve as my lawyer instead. He will be a collaborating counsel for all the [impeachment] cases,” Duterte-Carpio told local reporters when asked about the status of her charges on Wednesday.

The vice-president added that her father was preparing his documents before the Integrated Bar of the Philippines so he could “sign as a lawyer of good standing.”

Including the former president, who served as a prosecutor in Davao City before entering politics, is “clearly a strategy to rally public support for the embattled vice-president” amid the growing rift in the once-solid alliance between President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and the Duterte camp, according to Gerardo Eusebio, a political science lecturer at De La Salle University and veteran electoral campaign strategist.

Duterte-Carpio has been the subject of three impeachment complaints filed by religious, civic and progressive groups this month over a House panel investigation on the alleged misuse of over US$10 million in confidential funds from 2022 to 2023 by the Office of the Vice-President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), which she led until stepping down from the role in June.