SC orders Congress to respond to VP Sara Duterte's impeachment challenge

On Tuesday, February 25, the Supreme Court (SC) required Congress to respond to Vice President Sara Duterte's petition seeking to nullify her fourth impeachment complaint.

Duterte’s petition, filed last week by the Fortun, Narvasa and Salazar Law firm, argues that the complaints violate the one-year bar provision in the Constitution and requests judicial intervention to uphold due process.

The court directed the House of Representatives and the Senate to submit their comments within a non-extendible period of 10 days from notice, as SC spokesperson Atty. Camille Sue Mae Ting announced during a press conference.

Legal experts suggest it is possible that the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on these petitions, which challenge the validity of the impeachment complaints based on six major allegations including conspiracy and corruption.

Duterte's petition claims that the House of Representatives circumvented the one-year bar by ordering its Secretary-General to allegedly give them more time to file the fourth complaint despite three prior separate impeachment complaints having been filed earlier in December 2024.

Additionally, a group of Mindanaoan lawyers submitted a separate petition on February 18 seeking to halt the impeachment proceedings, and the SC is still assessing whether these cases should be consolidated.