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,

The lower house in the Philippines impeached Vice President Sara Duterte Wednesday, accusing her of a wide range of crimes that included plotting to assassinate the president, large-scale corruption and failing to strongly denounce China’s aggressive actions against Filipino forces in the disputed South China Sea.

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.