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.

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial will start when a new Congress convenes in July, Senate President Francis Escudero said, ruling out the chances of a special session while lawmakers are on election break.

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.

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte said on Friday she had been preparing since last year for impeachment and would welcome on her defence team her firebrand father, former President Rodrigo Duterte,

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

Sara Duterte said that it was too early to consider resigning, which would preempt the impeachment and preserve her ability to run for office in future.

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.

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.

The president, Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, whose father in 20 years as a dictatorial president imposed martial law, is facing off against the

Campaigning began in the Philippines Tuesday 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 development will escalate the quarrel between two of the country's most powerful families. View on euronews