VP Sara asks SC to block impeachment trial

Vice President Sara Duterte asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday, February 19, to block an impending impeachment trial against her.

Lawmaker Ysabel Maria Zamora maintains that the one-year ban on new complaints had not set in yet as the first three raps have not left the Office of the House Secretary General.

Duterte argues that the House of Representatives violated the 'one-year bar' rule by not immediately forwarding verified impeachment complaints to Speaker Martin Romualdez, while Zamora cites a previous SC ruling stating the ban starts only after charges are forwarded to the committee on justice.

The Vice President filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the impeachment trial, which is now being challenged by two petitions from Mindanao-based lawyers who argue that the House did not observe constitutional rules.

House Secretary General Reginald Velasco maintained that the House has complied with the Constitution's provisions when lawmakers impeached Duterte and sent the articles of impeachment to the Senate after 215 members filed a fourth complaint on February 5.