VP Sara Duterte files SC petition challenging House impeachment

Vice President Sara Duterte has filed a petition with the Supreme Court challenging the validity and constitutionality of the fourth impeachment complaint against her.

The petition for certiorari and prohibition with urgent application of temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction was filed with the SC on Tuesday, February 18, based on a tweet of GMA Integrated News’ Saleema Refran.

Supreme Court confirms VP Sara Duterte filed a petition for Certiorari and Prohibition vs Impeachment case yesterday Feb 18, 2025 @gmanews pic.twitter.com/kdwjaYO4At

— Saleema Refran (@saleema_refran) February 19, 2025

The respondents in the petition are the House of Representatives, represented by Speaker Martin Romualdez; the Senate, represented by Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero; and House Secretary General Reginald Velasco.

The petition seeks “judicial intervention from the High Court to uphold due process and raises serious legal and constitutional concerns” regarding the fourth impeachment complaint, according to the Fortun, Narvasa & Salazar law firm.

The Vice President’s camp argues that the Supreme Court should declare the impeachment complaint against her as null and void on the following grounds:

• "the House committed grave abuse of discretion when it deliberately froze action on the first three impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Duterte which were never forwarded to the Office of Speaker, in this case, Leyte Representative Romualdez, as provided by the House Rules; and
• "the fourth impeachment complaint signed by 215 House members as complainants violated the Constitution's one-year ban on filing impeachment complaints since the House already took action on the three initial complaints by not forwarding it to the Speaker's office."

"There were three prior complaints that were filed on December 2, December 4, and I think on December 19 or 18. Shortly after, there were official reports and interviews and public pronouncements that were made by the Secretary General that supposedly these three complaints were already verified and ready for transmitting to the Speaker, but [they] never did. And then suddenly, you see a fourth impeachment complaint that was suddenly referred to the Senate on the last day of the session," lawyer Sheila Sison, counsel for the Vice President, said in a separate interview.

"Now, the question that we're respectfully asking the Supreme Court to decide is whether this is permitted. Is the House permitted to have that unbridled discretion with its own set of rules that it had promulgated for impeachment proceedings just so it could pave the way for some fourth impeachment complaint?" she added.

Willing to face trial

In addition, Sison said Duterte remains willing to face the impeachment trial even if her camp asked the Supreme Court to declare the impeachment complaint null and void.

“Sa tingin ko, walang contradiction ‘yung statement ni Vice President na she's willing to face whatever charges against sa kanya, Hindi naman nagbabago ‘yun. Hindi naman ibig sabihin na nag-file siya ng petisyon para kwestiyunin ‘yung proseso....hindi ibig sabihin na ayaw na niyang humarap,” Sison told reporters.

(I don’t think there is a contradiction between the statement of the Vice President that she is willing to face charges against her. That has not changed. It does not mean that just because she filed a petition questioning the process, she is not willing to face these accusations anymore.)

“Sa tingin ko, narrative lang yan nung mga tao na gustong magpalabas ng maling impormasyon, spekulasyon,” Sison added.

(To my mind, it is just a narrative being pushed by some people who want to spread wrong information, speculation.)

Sison said the Vice President is always willing to face a trial that is based on legal processes and facts.

“Dapat tingnan ng taong bayan itong buong proseso based doon sa ano ba talaga yung facts, hindi doon sa kung ano yung espekulasyon. Kaya hindi ko nakikita kung paano magkatunggali ‘yung kanyang pag-avail ng isang legal remedy na available naman sa kanya. Available sa iyo, available sa akin, available sa kung sino mang tao na malalagay sa kanyang posisyon,” Sison added.

(The public should look at the big picture based on what the facts are, not on speculations. That is why I don’t see why her availing of a legal remedy that is available to her, you, everybody in the same position is contradictory [to her previous statement that she is willing to face charges].)

Dreadful process

Sison described the impeachment trial as a "dreadful process."

“It unseats a person who the people have deliberately chosen for that office. I understand, of course, that many who have come to this forum may probably already have formed their own opinions. This is but natural in a democratic country that values and encourages free speech. But it is a stunning penalty. It is a dreadful process. It ruins a life,” she said.

“In fact, I can even go one step further and state the reality that long before the impeachment process has begun, a life is already ruined by accusations made public and with the amount of heavy criticisms made for public consumption without the benefit yet of a trial,” added Sison during a forum on Emerging Issues on the Impeachment hosted by the University of the Philippines College of Law, Justice George Malcolm Foundation and the Philippine Law Journal.

Sison then said the impeachment process should adhere to the Constitution.

“Despite our personal convictions and our opinions on issues surrounding the current impeachment efforts against the Vice President, impeachment remains a serious constitutional issue and must be done only in the manner permitted by no less than our Constitution and the standards it had set therefore in accordance with principles of fair play and the rule of law,” she said.

In the same forum, 1986 Constitutional Commission member Rene Sarmiento said proceeding with the trial is a duty under the Constitution.

"We have Constitutional supremacy. All laws, regulations, all contracts have to yield to the supremacy of the Constitution The Rules of the Senate, they have to yield to the command of the Constitution to proceed forthwith," Sarmiento said when asked if the Senate should convene now as an impeachment court even if it is not in session. 

SC spokesperson Atty. Camille Ting, meanwhile, said that Duterte’s petition was not included in the en banc agenda on Tuesday.

To recall, three impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte in December 2024, all of which were connected with the alleged misuse of confidential funds.

It was the fourth impeachment complaint that was endorsed by over one-third of lawmakers from the House of Representatives, and was later on transmitted to the Senate.

The Senate, however, adjourned on the same day without tackling the impeachment case. Escudero said Duterte’s impeachment trial will most likely start after the State of the Nations Address (SONA) on July 21 under the 20th Congress.

Lawyers from Mindanao and others also asked the SC earlier to direct the Senate to cease and desist from conducting the impeachment trial of Duterte, arguing that it is based on a defective complaint.

In a 114-page petition, they also asked the SC to declare the Articles of Impeachment as null and void.

A petition for mandamus asking the SC to compel the Senate to "immediately" convene as an impeachment court for Duterte's trial was also filed last Friday.

Duterte had said that she is not contemplating resigning from her position yet after the House of Representatives impeached her.

While the impeachment court has yet to be convened, Duterte said at this early stage that she will not appear since, she said, it is allowed.

She has also maintained that she welcomes the filing of impeachment complaints, as this would provide an opportunity to answer allegations hurled against her.

The seven Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Duterte include:

• Conspiracy to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez;
• Malversation of P612.5 million in confidential funds with questionable liquidation documents;
• Bribery and corruption in the Department of Education (DepEd) during Duterte’s tenure as Education Secretary, involving former DepEd officials;
• Unexplained wealth and failure to disclose assets in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), with her wealth reportedly increasing fourfold from 2007 to 2017;
• Involvement in extrajudicial killings in Davao City;
• Destabilization and public disorder efforts, including boycotting the State of the Nation Address (SONA) while declaring herself “designated survivor,” leading rallies calling for Marcos Jr.’s resignation, obstructing congressional investigations, and issuing threats against top officials; and
• The totality of her conduct as Vice President.

 —KG/BM, GMA Integrated News