Philippine Vice President Duterte asks Supreme Court to void her impeachment and block Senate trial

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to void her impeachment and block a Senate trial that could remove her from office.

The House of Representatives, which is dominated by the allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., impeached Duterte on Feb. 5 over accusations that included plotting to assassinate the president and large-scale corruption. The Senate was expected to turn itself into an impeachment court to try Duterte after Congress resumes June 2.

The vice president, through her lawyers, asked the 15-member high court to annul her impeachment and block the trial because its initiation "was procedurally defective, constitutionally infirm and jurisdictionally void."

Lawyer Israelito Torreon told reporters the complaint was sent to the Senate too fast for some of the House signees to study it.

"This is part of a plan probably to eliminate her as a probable contender” in the 2028 presidential elections, Torreon said, saying it could not be described as anything other than political persecution.

A conviction in the Senate trial would bar her from holding public office.

The impeachment complaint focused on Duterte's statements at a Nov. 23 online news conference that she would have the president, his wife and cousin House Speaker Martin Romualdez assassinated if she herself was killed in their escalating political feud. She has denied that she meant to threaten to kill them.

She was also accused of misusing intelligence funds as vice president and as education secretary before she has resigned from that position as her alliance with the president crumbled last year. She has not publicly provided a detailed response to accusations of graft and corruption.

Duterte, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, ran as Marcos’ vice presidential running mate in 2022, but their alliance quickly frayed.

While campaigning for senatorial candidates in May 12 midterm elections, Marcos has been publicly denouncing the bloody anti-drugs crackdown and failure of his predecessor to denounce China’s hostile actions against Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea without naming the Dutertes.

Last week, Rodrigo Duterte said during a campaign rally that 15 senators should be killed to free up more vacancies for his allies in the midterms. Police filed criminal complaints Monday against the former president over those statements.

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte's lawyers, from left, Atty. Martin Delgra, Atty. Israelito Torreon and Atty. Hillary Olga shows documents they filed asking the 15-member high court to annul her impeachment and block the trial at the Supreme Court in Manila, Philippines Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte's lawyer Israelito Torreon, right, shows documents they filed asking the 15-member high court to annul her impeachment and block the trial at the Supreme Court in Manila, Philippines Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)

FILE - Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte gestures as she speaks during a press conference in Manila, Philippines on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe, File)

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte holds a copy of her statement as she speaks during a press conference in Manila, Philippines on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)