Coverage of Malacañang, Congress, and national government affairs including executive orders, legislative proceedings, and inter-agency coordination
57 articles
Impeachment prosecutors say the bribery count against Vice President Sara Duterte could be abandoned not for lack of evidence, but because the Senate needs to pivot to the ₱7.2-trillion 2027 budget by mid-October — leaving the underlying allegation neither proven nor disproven.
The impeachment court ruled Sept. 23 that only participating senator-judges count toward the two-thirds needed to convict Vice President Sara Duterte, dropping the number from 16 to 14 — and reversing its own fixed-16 position from July.
No group bothered filing for a Metro Manila protest permit, but that didn't stop thousands from marching under a police deployment of more than 17,000 — with a controversial AI-linked land deal in Tarlac now added to the list of grievances.
Her spokesman says Vice President Sara Duterte is "ready to replace" the president, as Malacañang denies orchestrating the impeachment trial, the cases against her allies, and police operations — days before the Senate court rules on the vote threshold needed to convict her.
Retired Supreme Court Justice Adolfo Azcuna told the Senate impeachment court that the two-thirds threshold to convict Vice President Sara Duterte is fixed at 16 votes out of all 24 senators — not 16 out of however many show up. Pressed by Sen. Panfilo Lacson on a scenario where only 15 senators are available, Azcuna didn't flinch: no 16, no conviction, full stop.
A unanimous ruling grants a writ of mandamus compelling the Senate and House to finally enact the constitutional ban on political dynasties — the same Congress that passed a widely criticized "watered-down" version in June and then let it stall in the Senate.
With four senator-judges absent and Presiding Officer Escudero set to cast a vote, four retired Supreme Court justices will advise the impeachment court before its Sept. 23 ruling on the threshold needed to convict Vice President Sara Duterte.
The vice president escalated her attacks on President Marcos hours after her arraignment on a grave threats case was postponed, as Malacañang had not responded as of this report.
With four senator-judges unable to take part in Sara Duterte's impeachment trial, the Senate impeachment court will decide by Sept. 23 whether the 16-vote conviction threshold should still count absent members — a ruling that could reshape the case's outcome.
House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos says associates of then-President Rodrigo Duterte sought the power to choose the incoming executive secretary, House speaker, and Senate president in exchange for endorsing his father's 2022 presidential bid — a claim Malacañang defended on Aug. 10 as the UniTeam alliance's collapse continues to reverberate.
