The Philippine Senate is set to convene Monday afternoon as an impeachment court to try Vice President Sara Duterte, in a politically charged proceeding that will test institutions and heighten scrutiny on the country’s second-highest elected official. Duterte, the first vice president in Philippine history to face an impeachment trial, confronts four complaints, with a conviction on any single article sufficient to remove her from office. Hearings will initially run from Monday to Wednesday at 2 p.m., according to Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, who said the opening day will be devoted to preliminaries and the presentation of opening statements by the prosecution and defense.

The case centers on accusations including culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, bribery, and other high crimes. Under the Constitution, removing an elected official via impeachment requires a two-thirds vote of the senator-judges, a threshold Senator Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV underscored as deliberately high to reflect the gravity of overturning the popular mandate. “Removing elected officials is no simple matter, because impeachment alters the will of the majority of voters,” Aquino said, stressing that the process is designed to be rigorous and fact-driven.

Aquino, who will sit as one of the senator-judges, said he plans to file a motion in the first week of the trial to make all evidence presented before the Senate impeachment court publicly accessible. In a video statement released Sunday, he argued that transparency is crucial as the country follows the case, urging Filipinos to closely monitor the proceedings, form their own views based on the record, and remain alert to misinformation. He pledged to stay impartial, vowing to examine the evidence carefully, ensure a fair hearing, and cast his vote solely on the facts presented. Aquino added that his office will use social media channels to gather questions and topics of concern from the public.

The Senate has been moving in tandem on security and procedural preparations ahead of the high-profile trial. On Friday, Senate Sergeant-at-Arms and retired Police Major General Alfred Sotto Corpuz led an inspection of the Senate complex with officials from the Philippine National Police’s Police Security and Protection Group. Authorities said additional police personnel will be deployed around the compound to strengthen security and maintain order while the impeachment court is in session. Senators from both the majority and minority blocs also held an all-member caucus, led by Gatchalian, to finalize internal arrangements ahead of the formal opening of the trial. The sessions are scheduled to shift to a Tuesday-to-Thursday schedule at 2 p.m. after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. delivers his fifth State of the Nation Address on July 27.

The Senate impeachment court has summoned Duterte to appear at the formal opening of the trial, which will be closely watched both for its legal arguments and its broader political implications. Nine senators bring prior experience as impeachment judges, having participated in earlier trials of a sitting president and a chief justice, and their handling of the case is expected to shape public confidence in the process. With allegations spanning constitutional questions and corruption claims, and with calls mounting for comprehensive public access to evidence, the proceedings are set to become a central test of transparency, accountability and due process in the country’s political system.

Hong Kong’s residential property market is extending a steady recovery, with key price gauges approaching levels last seen nearly three years ago, even as analysts warn momentum is likely to moderate in the coming quarter. The Centaline City Leading Index (CCL), which tracks secondary private home prices, rose for a fourth straight week to 159.94, up 0.57% on the week and 1.58% over the past month, marking its highest reading since around September 2023. The index has gained about 10.98% so far this year, underscoring a strong rebound in the second-hand segment.

Market data suggest the upswing is broad-based across different flat sizes, with larger units showing particular strength recently. Sub-indices for large housing estates and small-to-medium units advanced 0.61% and 0.43% respectively over the week, each climbing for a second consecutive week to near three-year highs. Prices of large units rose 1.25% in the latest week, extending a three-week gain of 3.01% to reach a two-and-a-half-year high. Regionally, Kowloon led with a 1.31% weekly rise to a near three-year high, while Hong Kong Island added 1.12% over the week and 2.34% across two weeks. New Territories East and West slipped 0.38% and 0.24%, ending their recent upward runs.

The official Rating and Valuation Department’s private home price index paints a similar picture of sustained recovery over a longer horizon. The index climbed 1.42% in the latest month to 321.9, its 12th consecutive monthly gain and a 12.36% increase from a year earlier. For the first five months of the year, official prices are up 7.44%. Still, both the CCL and the official gauge remain below their 2021 peaks: the CCL is about 16.41% under its August 2021 record of 191.34, while the government index is roughly 19.14% shy of its September 2021 high of 398.1, highlighting the distance yet to recover from the last cycle’s top.

Smaller units continue to outperform. Prices for A, B and C category flats — those up to 1,076 square feet — advanced 1.47% month on month and 12.57% year on year to 324.2 on the official scale, the highest level in about 32 months. Larger D and E category units of 1,076 square feet or more also rose, but at a slower clip, with their index up 1.17% on the month and 8.99% on the year to a roughly 31‑month high of 284.9. In the secondary market, sentiment is being reinforced by record-setting deals: at Yuet, a redevelopment project in Cheung Sha Wan near the MTR station, a one‑bedroom flat recently changed hands for HK$6.088 million, or HK$17,394 per square foot on a usable basis, the highest price per square foot recorded in the estate’s second-hand market. The seller, who bought in the first launch about two years ago, booked a paper gain of more than HK$870,000, illustrating improving prospects for recent purchasers.

That momentum, however, is colliding with a more uncertain macro backdrop and shifting financial conditions. Since late May, tightened action by mainland regulators against illegal cross-border investment has weighed on Hong Kong equities, with continued stock market weakness and slower first-hand project sales feeding into more protracted bargaining in the secondary segment. Concerns that the US may raise interest rates again have also contributed to a more cautious tone among buyers. Centaline analysts expect the pace of home-price gains to slow from the latter part of the third quarter, as the earlier surge gives way to more selective demand.

Financing dynamics are another source of restraint. According to industry commentary, an easing of tensions in the Middle East has coincided with capital outflows from Hong Kong, pushing interbank rates higher and reducing the scope for further cuts in mortgage costs in the near term. With prices having already rebounded, rental yields have edged lower, prompting some potential investors to reconsider the timing of their purchases. Even so, the leasing market remains firm: the official rental index reached 204.1 in the latest month, up 0.34% and notching its seventh straight advance to a record high, 5.1% above a year earlier and about 1.8% higher over the first five months of the year.

For now, the data point to a housing market that has clearly emerged from its recent trough but is still some distance from its historic highs, with gains increasingly vulnerable to shifts in global interest-rate expectations and equity-market sentiment. Developers face the added challenge of new supply from large-scale projects in coming years, which could divert some demand away from the secondary sector. With both price and rent indices on multi‑month winning streaks, the balance between affordability, financing costs and investment returns is likely to determine how durable Hong Kong’s latest property upswing proves to be.