The Senate impeachment court on Friday confirmed receipt of the House of Representatives’ reply to the answer ad cautelam filed by Vice President Sara Duterte’s camp.

“The Impeachment Court through the Secretary of the Senate acting as the Clerk of Court confirms the formal receipt today at 1:38 pm of the House Prosecutors' Reply,” said lawyer Regie Tongol, spokesperson of Senate impeachment court.

In their reply, House prosecutors debunked Duterte’s defense’s claims that there are “no statements of ultimate facts” in the fourth impeachment complaint against her.

“At the onset, it must be pointed out that in the Answer Ad Cautelam, respondent Duterte had made several misleading and false material statements,” the document read.

To recall, Duterte’s camp described the impeachment complaint against her as “nothing more than a scrap of paper,” adding that the impeachment complaint is a “clear abuse of the impeachment process.”

Duterte’s camp also 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 (1) impeachment proceeding against the same official within a period of one (1) year,” their answer ad cautelam read.

The one-year bar rule prohibits the filing of more than one impeachment case against the same official within a 12-month period.

At least three impeachment complaints against Duterte were filed at the House of Representatives in December. However, it only acted on the fourth impeachment case, which was submitted to the Senate on 5 February, the last session day before the congressional break for the midterm elections.

Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives on 5 February, with 215 lawmakers who were more than two-thirds of its members voting in favor.

If convicted by the Senate, Duterte would be removed from office and barred from holding any future public position.

For Duterte to be convicted, the Senate, which will act as the impeachment court, must secure two-thirds of the votes, or at least 16 out of the 24 members.