Lawmaker hits Duterte camp for ‘selective’ use of SC rulings

A key lawmaker has criticized Vice President Sara Duterte’s legal team for selectively invoking due process protections from the Supreme Court.

In a television interview, Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, a member of the House Committee on Justice, said Duterte’s camp cites Supreme Court rulings when convenient but dismisses the impeachment process as biased when it does not favor their defense.

“This is in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling na kailangan tawagin sila during the preliminary inquiry to determine the grounds of the complaints under the Articles of Impeachment by the courts of impeachment,” Adiong said.

“But now that we are doing exactly what the Supreme Court has said, na hindi na tayo din diretso sa plenary because we need to provide and observe and extend due process to the respondent, which we are doing, sinasabi naman nila kangaroo court. I heard some of the defense mentioned a kangaroo court,” the House assistant majority leader added.

The Supreme Court had earlier blocked an impeachment attempt against Duterte under Article XI, Section 3 (5) of the Constitution, which states that no impeachment shall be initiated against the same person more than once within a one-year period.

The restriction was triggered after four complaints against Duterte were filed separately—three in December 2024 and a fourth in January 2025.

However, the High Court also ruled that lawmakers violated the Constitution by failing to promptly refer the first complaint to the justice committee within the prescribed timeframe.

“Here, the 10 session days should be reckoned from the filing and endorsement of the first impeachment complaint on December 2, 2024. Thus, respondent House had until January 14, 2025, to include it in the ‘Order of Business’ and until January 21, 2025, to refer it to the proper committee,” the court said.

Adiong said the rulings must be respected by all parties, but stressed that those invoking them must also take part in the process.

“So, we cannot be selective on how we respect the constitutional mandate regarding the observation of the House of Representatives right now, when it comes to adopting its own rules in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling,” he said.

Duterte’s camp, however, argued that the House’s role is limited to establishing probable cause and not conducting a trial.

Her lawyers also filed a petition on 27 March seeking a temporary restraining order, alleging that the House Committee on Justice committed serious constitutional violations in proceeding with the hearings.

Despite the camp’s absence, the House justice panel has continued the impeachment proceedings, with hearings set to resume on 14 April.

If probable cause is established, the case will be elevated to the Senate for trial.