The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte has formally responded to the writ of summons issued by the Senate impeachment court, calling for the dismissal of the case filed against her.

In a 34-page ad cautelam submitted by her lawyers on Monday — the last day of the 10-day non-extendable period given to her to respond — Duterte’s camp argued that the impeachment complaint violated the Constitution’s one-year bar rule.

“The fourth impeachment complaint must be dismissed because [i]t is void ab initio for violating the one-year bar rule under Section 3 (5) Article XI of the 1987 Constitution, which explicitly prohibits the initiation of more than one impeachment proceeding against the same official within one year,” the document read.

The one-year bar prohibits the filing of more than one impeachment case against the same official within 12 months.

At least three impeachment complaints against Duterte were filed in the House of Representatives in December 2024, but only the fourth complaint, filed on 5 February 2025—the last session day before the congressional break for the midterm elections—was acted upon and transmitted to the Senate.

Duterte’s camp also argued that there were “no statements of ultimate facts” in the fourth impeachment complaint against her.

“Stripped of its factual and legal conclusions, it is nothing more than a scrap of paper,” they said, adding that the impeachment complaint is a “clear abuse of the impeachment process.”

Impeach before charges – solon

Duterte must first be removed from office through impeachment before the Ombudsman can pursue criminal charges against her, a House prosecutor said Monday.

Manila Rep. Joel Chua cited a 2008 Supreme Court ruling that bars criminal or administrative prosecution of an impeachable official still in office for offenses that are also grounds for impeachment.

“The Vice President—an impeachable officer—has to wait for the outcome of the impeachment trial before facing other charges,” said Chua, chair of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.

The ruling stemmed from a 1995 disbarment case involving former Ombudsman Aniano Desierto, which held that an Ombudsman must first be removed via impeachment before facing charges.

“Just like the Ombudsman, before she can be charged, she must be impeached first,” Chua said.

Under the Constitution, only the President, Vice President, Supreme Court justices, members of constitutional commissions, and the Ombudsman may be impeached for offenses like graft, bribery, treason, or betrayal of public trust.

While the Constitution does not provide explicit immunity for the President and Vice President, the Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that a sitting President cannot be sued while in office.

However, legal experts argued that the Vice President does not enjoy the same protection.

The Ombudsman has ordered Duterte and her subordinates to respond within 10 days to corruption complaints stemming from her alleged misuse of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, which she headed for two years.