Senate tells SC: No full access to VP raps

The Senate has confirmed that it has filed a Manifestation Ad Cautelam before the Supreme Court (SC) following the High Tribunal’s directive to Congress to submit comments and information related to the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Senate impeachment court spokesperson Atty. Regie Tongol said the filing was made on Tuesday through the Office of the Senate Legal Counsel.

In its manifestation, the Senate “respectfully informed the Court that it currently lacks sufficient knowledge or access to the specific information requested,” particularly that relating to the early stages of the impeachment process.

“The Senate’s filing of a Manifestation Ad Cautelam underscores the constitutional boundaries of each branch and the limits of what information the Senate can provide, especially when it has no official access to these matters and when these matters are similarly being asked of the House to provide in its order dated 11 June 2025,” Tongol said in a statement.

Last week, the Supreme Court asked both the House of Representatives and the Senate to submit key details about the impeachment complaints filed against the Vice President.

Among the questions: What is the status of the first three complaints? When were they endorsed? Does the House Secretary General have the discretion to delay or withhold the transmittal of these to the Speaker?

The SC also asked what legal authority allows such withholding, and requested the Senate to identify which committee drafted the Articles of Impeachment, when they were finalized, and whether Duterte was given a chance to respond to or be heard on the evidence presented in the House.

In its manifestation, the Senate maintained that it could not provide certain information due to a lack of official access. It emphasized that these details fall under the jurisdiction of the House, which received and processed the complaints.

“Like the Senate’s own impeachment court in its order dated 10 June 2025, the Supreme Court is now seeking more information regarding the House of Representatives’ exercise of the power to initiate,” Tongol said.

Back in June, the Senate — sitting as an impeachment court — opted to return the Articles of Impeachment to the House, without dismissing or terminating them outright. It requested the House to certify whether the fourth impeachment complaint against Duterte violated the constitutional one-year bar on multiple impeachment proceedings against the same official.

That provision, under Article XI, Section 3, Paragraph 5 of the Constitution, states: “No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within one year.”

The fourth complaint — which was endorsed by more than one-third of House members — is the only one that was formally transmitted to the Senate. The three earlier complaints, all filed in December 2024 and centered on alleged misuse of confidential funds, were not.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives of the newly installed 20th Congress has informed the Senate that it is ready and willing to pursue the impeachment case against the Vice President.