Campaigning for the Philippines' midterm elections kicked off on Tuesday against a fractured political backdrop, heightened by a high-profile row among warring elites that culminated in last week's impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Last week’s impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte has added an extra weight of political significance to the 12 Senate seats up for election.

The trial of impeached Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte cannot be rushed and will only begin in June, the Senate’s president said, while analysts described it as a political numbers game likely to be shaped by upcoming midterm polls.

The Philippine Senate can only act on the impeachment complaint against Vice-President Sara Duterte on June 2 when Congress resumes after the midterm elections, Senate President Francis Escudero told a briefing on Thursday.

She says her lawyers are preparing for a legal battle in her upcoming impeachment trial but refused to say if resignation is an option.

Lawmakers from the Philippines’ House of Representatives impeached Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday. Duterte will face trial before the Senate after the impeachment complaint against her garnered the support of over half of the more than 300 House members.

Campaigning began Tuesday in the Philippines for mid-term elections that could set the table for the next presidential race and determine the political future of impeached Vice President Sara Duterte.

The Philippine Senate president says the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will begin after Congress reopens in June and will be done fairly to avoid a repeat of a 2001 impeachment proceeding that stalled and sparked massive protests that forced a president to step down.

Midterms seen as referendum on Marcos, preview for 2028 race Senate trial could kill off Duterte’s political ambitions Impeachment follows bitter rift between Duterte and president Senators to decide Duterte’s fate in impeachment trial MANILA — Campaigning for the Philippines‘ midterm elections kicked off on Tuesday against a fractured political backdrop,

The development will escalate the quarrel between two of the country's most powerful families. View on euronews