Vice President Sara Duterte asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday, February 19, to nullify an impeachment complaint against her, arguing that the House of Representatives indictment of her was null.
In a 34-page petition for certiorari and prohibition, Duterte accused the House of deliberately circumventing constitutional standards to railroad the impeachment process against her.
For context, the lower House impeached Duterte on February 5 on accusations such as budget anomalies, amassing unusual wealth, and an alleged threat to the lives of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the first lady, and the house speaker.
The petition, filed by Duterte’s legal team from Fortun Narvasa & Salazar, claims that the House of Representatives, through its Secretary General Reginald Velasco, intentionally delayed the referral of three earlier impeachment complaints filed in December 2024 to pave the way for a fourth complaint filed on February 5, 2025.
The fourth complaint, which garnered 215 signatures, was immediately endorsed to the Senate, bypassing the usual procedural steps.
Duterte’s petition argues that the House’s actions violated the “One-Year Bar” under Section 3(5), Article XI of the 1987 Constitution, which prohibits the filing of multiple impeachment complaints against the same official within a one-year period.
The petition states that the House’s decision to freeze the first three complaints and allow the fourth to proceed was a “grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.”
“The act of freezing in itself constitutes Congress’ initial action on the First Three Complaints. The act performed by respondent House of Representatives to avoid the application of the One-Year Bar is the very act that calls for its application,” the petition read.
The petition cites public statements made by House Secretary General Velasco in media interviews, where he admitted that members of the House requested him to delay the referral of the first three complaints to allow time for the fourth complaint to be filed.
Duterte also accused the lower House of “grave abuse of discretion” when it “deliberately circumvented” a constitutional safeguard against more than one impeachment proceeding against the same official within a year.
“This political stratagem was done at the expense of constitutional standards … with the ultimate goal of having the petitioner perpetually disqualified from running for any national elective office,” she added in Tuesday’s petition.
Duterte’s petition invokes the Supreme Court’s expanded certiorari jurisdiction under Section 1, Article VIII of the Constitution, which grants the Court the power to review acts of any branch or instrumentality of the government for grave abuse of discretion. The petition argues that the House’s actions were a clear violation of constitutional procedures and that the Court has a duty to intervene.
“When an action of the legislative branch is seriously alleged to have infringed the Constitution, it becomes not only the right but, in fact, the duty of the judiciary to settle the dispute,” the petition states, citing the case of Tañada v. Angara.
In addition to nullifying the fourth impeachment complaint, Duterte’s legal team has requested the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) or writ of preliminary injunction to prevent the Senate from acting on the complaint.
The petition argues that Duterte would suffer “irreparable injury” if the impeachment trial proceeds, as it would damage her reputation and political career.
“The petitioner’s constitutional right to run for public office, despite having all qualifications and none of the disqualifications, is now put at risk,” the petition states. “If convicted on the basis of an infirm process and impeachment complaint that is barred by the One-Year prohibition under the Constitution, she will be perpetually disqualified from holding public office.”
The 24 senators in the upper chamber will act as jurors in the impeachment trial, which could result in Duterte’s ouster from office and a permanent ban from holding public positions, effectively ending her chances of becoming president.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez did not immediately comment on the matter. However, in a statement on Wednesday, House leaders dismissed Duterte’s petition as a “desperate” attempt to avoid accountability. (TCSP)
