Welcome to Foreign Policy’s Southeast Asia Brief.

The highlights this week: Sara Duterte becomes the first Philippine official to be impeached twice, Myanmar’s junta revives plans for a controversial Chinese megadam and Cambodian soldiers are injured on the border with Thailand.

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s Southeast Asia Brief.

The highlights this week: Sara Duterte becomes the first Philippine official to be impeached twice, Myanmar’s junta revives plans for a controversial Chinese megadam and Cambodian soldiers are injured on the border with Thailand.

Philippines Impeachment Kicks Off

The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte started Monday. It marks the latest twist in the allies-to-enemies saga of the Duterte dynasty and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Duterte is now the first Philippine official to be impeached twice, after 2025 impeachment proceedings against her were derailed for procedural reasons and did not lead to an acquittal or conviction. She has declined to attend the impeachment hearing, though she did meet with her legal team at the Senate on Tuesday.

Duterte stands accused of misappropriation of public funds, unexplained wealth, bribery of public officials, and threatening to assassinate the president.

The charges are centered on two key issues. First, Duterte’s alleged orchestration of graft in the Department of Education. Second, a 2024 speech in which she declared that she had contracted an assassin to kill Marcos, his wife, and the speaker of the House of Representatives if she was killed first.

However, the trial is widely seen having a strong political element. Duterte is the front-runner in early polling for the 2028 presidential election, and if convicted, she would be banned from standing.

The trial is the latest phase in the spectacular disintegration of the alliance between Marcos and the Duterte dynasty—a disintegration that saw former President Rodrigo Duterte arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court for trial last year.

Conviction would be difficult. For the impeachment to succeed, it must be supported by two-thirds of the chamber, which is 16 senators. Of the sitting senators, 14 are Duterte allies.

Those allies are coming under pressure. On Monday, Sen. Rodante Marcoleta was arrested on corruption charges and will likely not be able to attend trial, as one of the charges is a nonbailable offense.

Last month, another Duterte ally, Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada was also arrested on corruption charges. And a third Duterte ally, Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, has been on the run from an ICC warrant that was issued in November, briefly reappearing in the Senate in May before disappearing again amid a firefight.

The arrests prompted speculation that with fewer senators in attendance, the impeachment threshold would be lowered. But on Monday, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, a canny operator who has straddled the Duterte and Marcos camps........

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