Senators return the impeachment case against Sara Duterte to the Philippine House

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MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine senators set themselves as an impeachment court Tuesday for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte over corruption and other criminal allegations, but voted to send the raft of complaints back to the lower House of Representatives due to legal questions.

Dozens of activists protesting outside the Senate condemned Senate President Chiz Escudero and 17 other senators for voting to send back the impeachment complaint to the House instead of immediately bringing Duterte to trial. Five senators rejected the move.

The Senate action will delay the start of Duterte’s impeachment trial but it’s unclear what other impact it would have on her case.

“There is no `remand’ or `return’ in the constitution,” said Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who has demanded an immediate trial of the vice president. “Our obligation is to try and decide.”

Escudero said the move did not mean that the impeachment complaint was being dismissed and underscored that point by issuing summons for Duterte to appear before the impeachment court when the trial proceeds.

Duterte was impeached by the House in February on a range of accusations that include plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and large-scale corruption.

Many legislators who backed Duterte’s impeachment were political allies of Marcos and her impeachment deepened a bitter political rift between the two highest leaders of one of Asia’s most rambunctious democracies.

The vice president’s supporters have said the legislators violated the constitution and congressional rules to force her impeachment and prevent her from running in presidential elections in 2028, when Marcos' six-year term ends.

Duterte, 47, is the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte who was arrested in March and flown to The Netherlands to face charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.

The Hague-based court had ordered the former president’s arrest through Interpol, the global police organization, after accusing him of committing a crime against humanity over deadly anti-drug crackdowns he oversaw while in office.