Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte has been impeached by lawmakers after a vote in the House of Representatives, paving the way for a Senate trial that could see her removed from office.
The vote on Wednesday followed allegations in December that Ms Duterte had misused millions of dollars in public funds and had plotted President Ferdinand Marcos's assassination.
The vice-president and her father Rodrigo Duterte — the country's former president — have been been embroiled in a long-running political feud with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his allies in the parliament.
House of Representatives Secretary-General Reginald Velasco told a plenary meeting of the lower chamber of Congress that at least 215 lawmakers signed a petition to impeach Ms Duterte.
The House resolution charges Ms Duterte with "violation of the constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes".
A representative of Ms Duterte did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Marcos said he does not support her impeachment but has no power over the legislative branch.
The vice-president's fate now lies in the hands of the Philippines' 24 senators, two-thirds of whom must vote for her impeachment to remove her from office and disqualify her from standing for future public positions.
A trial date has yet to be set.
How likely is the senate to endorse the impeachment?
University of Santo Tomas' political science department chairman Dennis Coronacion said the vote for Duterte's impeachment could come down to President Marcos's influence.
"If (Mr Marcos) is committed to this one, to the impeachment process … I think getting the required number of Senate votes is possible," he said, adding Wednesday's vote had come as "a surprise".
Mr Coronacion said if the administration stay hands-off, the chances of Ms Duterte being impeached are closer to 50-50 as sitting senators' need for votes from Ms Duterte's stronghold in Mindanao in the coming election.
Ms Duterte is one of only four high-ranking officials, including ex-President Joseph Estrada, an ombudsman and a former Supreme Court chief justice, to face an impeachment vote since the Philippines returned to democracy after the 20-year rule of Ferdinand Marcos Sr came to an end in 1986.
Vice President no stranger to controversies
Ms Duterte claimed in an online news conference in November that she would contract an assassin to kill Marcos, his wife and Speaker Martin Romualdez if she were killed, a threat she warned wasn't a joke.
Ms Duterte told a press conference on November 24 she had instructed the assassin to also kill president Marcos's wife and the speaker of the Philippines House.
"I have talked to a person. I said: 'If I get killed, go kill BBM [Marcos], [first lady] Liza Araneta, and [speaker] Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke," Ms Duterte said.
"I said: 'Do not stop until you kill them', and then he said: 'Yes'."
The vice-president later said that she wasn't threatening him, but was expressing concern for her own safety.
The House has also been investigating the alleged misuse of 612.5 million pesos of confidential and intelligence funds received by Ms Duterte's offices as vice-president and education secretary.
She has refused to respond to questions in detail in tense televised hearings last year.
Ms Duterte also vehemently protested when her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, was ordered temporarily detained for allegedly hampering the inquiry.
Ms Duterte has accused Mr Marcos, his wife and Romualdez of corruption, weak leadership and attempting to muzzle her because of speculation she may seek the presidency in 2028.
The National Bureau of Investigation subpoenaed Ms Duterte last year to face investigators about her threats against them.
Mr Marcos and Ms Duterte won landslide victories as running mates in the 2022 election, but have since fallen out over key differences including their approaches to China's territorial claims in the South China Sea and their views on the deadly anti-drug crackdown conducted by Ms Duterte's father.
The brutal drug crackdown by her father left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead in killings mostly by police that are being investigated by the International Criminal Court as a possible crime against humanity.
Wires
