Vice President Sara Duterte is headed on Tuesday to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on unofficial business together with her family, according to the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
The OVP said in an advisory that the vice president is scheduled to attend the Independence Day celebration and engage in an OVP program consultation with Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) on June 12.
The vice president’s visit to Malaysia follows her trip to Doha, Qatar and The Hague, Netherlands for her birthday celebration in May.
Meanwhile, the vice president’s travel took place before her impeachment trial in the Senate, which is scheduled to meet as an impeachment court on June 11.
Senate President Francis Escudero took his oath on Monday evening as the presiding officer of the impeachment court for the vice president’s impending impeachment trial.
The Senate also agreed to refer to the committee on rules the articles of impeachment filed against the vice president.
Several organizations and academic institutions have been calling for the Senate to immediately proceed with the impeachment trial.
The defense team of the vice president vowed they would not back down from the impeachment proceedings, however, reiterated its firm position that the initiation of the impeachment process—particularly the Fourth Impeachment Complaint “suffers from serious constitutional infirmities.”
The defense team underscored that the impeachment process must never be weaponized to harass, silence, or eliminate political opponents. It is a constitutional mechanism, not a political tool.
