House defends Duterte impeach process before Supreme Court
These initial complaints became moot after the House plenary adopted a fourth complaint, endorsed by several lawmakers, and transmitted this to the Senate as the official Articles of Impeachment.
Supreme Court
The House of Representatives assured the Supreme Court (SC) that it strictly followed constitutional procedures in handling the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, insisting that all its actions complied with the legal requirements.
In a 16-page compliance document filed on 16 July, a copy of which was made public on Monday, 21 July, the House through Solicitor General Darlene Marie Berberabe responded to the High Court’s inquiries regarding the timeline and handling of the impeachment complaints.
This came after the SC sought clarification on whether or not the House met the constitutional requirement to include impeachment complaints in its Order of Business within 10 session days.
The House explained that while it implemented the intermediate step of transmitting the complaints to the Speaker, this procedural measure did not delay the mandatory 10-day period.
Records showed the first three impeachment complaints, filed by private citizens between 2 and 19 December 2024, were all included in the 5 February Order of Business within the required timeframe. These initial complaints became moot after the House plenary adopted a fourth complaint, endorsed by several lawmakers, and transmitted this to the Senate as the official Articles of Impeachment.
House Secretary General Reginald Velasco affirmed in the filing that his office had no authority to block properly endorsed complaints, citing established House rules and the 2011 Supreme Court precedent in Gutierrez v. House Committee on Justice.
The Lower House invoked the principle of separation of powers in declining to answer certain court inquiries about internal legislative processes, referencing the 1998 Santiago v. Guingona ruling that limits judicial review of congressional procedures.
With the Senate having already convened as an impeachment court on 10 June, the House argued that any further examination of the impeachment’s validity is properly the Senate’s exclusive jurisdiction.
The SC is expected to review the submission before determining whether to continue its examination of the case or defer to the Senate’s ongoing impeachment proceedings.