Vice President Sara Duterte made history as she became the first vice president to be impeached in the country. But before her, four other government officials had been removed from their positions since 1986.
In JP Soriano’s Wednesday report on “24 Oras,” one of the most memorable events in 2020 was when the Articles of Impeachment against former President Joseph Estrada were read in the plenary session.
Despite their attempts, Estrada’s allies failed to stop his impeachment, making him the first president to be impeached.
However, his impeachment trial did not finish due to EDSA II, the political protest that overthrew Estrada.
The term “impeachment” became known in Filipino vocabulary due to these events.
Impeachment is a process stated in the Constitution to remove a president, vice president, members of the Congress, Supreme Court, heads of constitutional commissions, and Ombudsman from their seats.
Based on GMA Integrated News Research records, former President Elpidio Quirino was the first government official to face an impeachment complaint.
An impeachment complaint was filed against former presidents Diosdado Macapagal and Ferdinand Marcos Sr in 1964 and 1985, respectively.
These complaints were later dismissed.
Former President Corazon Aquino faced the same impeachment complaint in 1988, but it also failed.
From 2005 to 2008, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo received consecutive impeachment complaints, but none succeeded in removing her from office.
Former presidents Benigno “Noynoy Aquino and Rodrigo Duterte did not escape from facing impeachment complaints, but these were also dismissed.
Before the younger Duterte, Estrada and Arroyo also faced an impeachment complaint in 1994 and 2000, respectively, when they were vice presidents.
However, these were also dismissed.
An impeachment complaint was also filed against former vice presidents Noli de Castro and Leni Robredo in 2005 and 2017, respectively, but no lawmaker endorsed it.
In total, five government officials in the country were impeached after the EDSA revolution.
These are Estrada in 2010, former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez in 2011, former Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2012, former Commission of Elections chairperson Andres Bautista in 2017, and Vice President Duterte. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/LDF, GMA Integrated News