Duterte asks SC to junk House attempt to revive impeachment case

National

VICE President Sara Duterte is turning the tables on the House of Representatives, asking the Supreme Court to reject its effort to bring her barred impeachment case back to life.

Duterte’s legal team filed its comment on Monday, August 18, opposing the House’s motion for reconsideration (MR), calling for its dismissal “for lack of merit,” according to spokesperson Michael Poa.

The 27-page submission argues that the Supreme Court’s decision requires no factual corrections, despite the House claiming the ruling misinterpreted events surrounding the first three complaints and the transmittal of the fourth complaint.

Duterte’s filing stressed that the House’s suggestion of a procedural misunderstanding is misleading, as the ruling was based on substantive legal considerations rather than the sequence of events.

The fourth complaint, she noted, was transmitted to the Senate without a formal plenary vote and that Speaker Martin Romualdez had only asked if there were objections.

The legal team also challenged the House’s reliance on technical compliance with the timeline for inclusion in the Order of Business, calling it insufficient to meet constitutional requirements.

The filing further described the House motion as unauthorized and legally infirm, since it lacked approval from the plenary of the 20th Congress. It pointed out that the House had already addressed the grounds it cited, and that its failure to refer the first three complaints to the proper committee reflected an “intentional effort” to avoid triggering the one-year bar, which was activated when the complaints were archived.

The legal team also rejected the House’s claim that new impeachment rules should apply only prospectively, arguing that the principle cannot shield those responsible from consequences.

The SC had previously ruled in a 13-0-2 decision that the Articles of Impeachment filed against Duterte on Feb. 5 violated the Constitution’s one-year rule under Article 11, Section 3, and breached her right to due process under the Bill of Rights.

Since then, Duterte’s team has maintained readiness for any eventuality, noting that the archiving of the case does not constitute vindication.

Nineteen senators voted to archive the impeachment articles while awaiting the SC’s resolution of appeals, four opposed, and one abstained.(MyTVCebu)