Amir Latif Arain
13 October 2026•Update: 13 October 2026
Philippine House prosecutors dropped three of the four impeachment articles on Tuesday against Vice President Sara Duterte, leaving only a charge of unexplained wealth to be tried by the Senate impeachment court, according to media reports.
The dropped charges include alleged misuse of confidential funds and an alleged assassination plot, the English newspaper Phil Star reported.
The Senate impeachment court accepted the withdrawal of the charges, leaving Duterte’s trial to proceed on a single charge of unexplained wealth.
"Today, the prosecution respectfully manifests that it will no longer pursue three of them,” lead prosecutor Jinky Luistro told the court. “It will stand on one, and that is article two on unexplained wealth.”
It means Duterte can only be acquitted or convicted based on Article II, which accuses her of unexplained and undeclared wealth.
The withdrawal is viewed as major scaling back of the impeachment case, as the dropped charges included two of the most prominent allegations against Duterte: the alleged misuse of confidential funds, and alleged grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Duterte may be disqualified from running for public office, including the presidency in 2028, if she is convicted.
