MANILA – The Philippine Senate convened as an impeachment court on Monday to try the case against Vice-President Sara Duterte, said Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.

Philippine senator and former chief of the Philippine National Police Ronald Dela Rosa was absent from the Senate plenary session, with a total of 23 senators in attendance.

The House of Representatives of the Philippines on May 11 secured the required number of votes to impeach Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte. Articles of impeachment were transmitted to the Senate on May 13.

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The articles of impeachment accused Sara of corruption, assassination plots, inciting sedition, and patterns of abuse, among others.

Sara, the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, announced her candidacy for the 2028 Philippine presidential election in February. If more than two-thirds of senators vote in favor of impeachment, she will be convicted and removed from office and barred from holding public office for life.