Senate sends back Duterte case

The Philippine Senate voted late on Tuesday to send the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte back to the House of Representatives, a decision one senator called a “functional dismissal’.

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The House impeached Ms Duterte in early February on charges of graft, corruption and an alleged assassination plot against one-time ally and former running mate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

A conviction, which requires the support of two-thirds of the Senate's 24 members, would mean her removal as vice president and a permanent ban from public office.

Tuesday's 18-5 decision came just hours after senators had taken their oaths as jurors, and followed days of wrangling that had raised fears the trial process was headed for derailment.

Ms Duterte is widely expected to run for president in 2028 if she survives impeachment, a possibility with deep implications for the political futures of the senators tasked with deciding her fate.