VP Duterte asks SC to halt impeachment probe

Vice President Sara Duterte has filed a formal petition at the Supreme Court seeking to halt the impeachment proceedings initiated by the House of Representatives. 

In a 58-page petition filed on 30 March, Duterte asks the High Court to issue a writ of certiorari and prohibition with urgent application for temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction to declare the impeachment proceedings against her as unconstitutional. 

Certiorari is a corrective remedy that allows for the review and re-examination of decisions made by a lower tribunal, targeting the specific proceedings or actions involved. In contrast, prohibition is a preventive measure aimed at halting future actions, directing the court to cease or restrain its ongoing proceedings.

Duterte argued that the hearing being conducted by the House is unconstitutional since the House Committee on Justice does not have the constitutional authority to conduct hearings.

“The proceedings conducted by respondent Committee on Justice remarkably show grave abuse of discretion and reek double standards in the treatment of impeachment complaints referred to it, and evince a clear fishing expedition, resulting in the violation of petitioners's constitutional rights to due process, presumption of innocence, and equal protection of the laws, which this Honorable Court directed in its ruling in Duterte that applies to the entire impeachment process,” the petition stated. 

Additionally, the petition points out that the Committee on Justice allegedly "circumvented the limits of its constitutional task" by creating and implementing rules that were not contemplated by the Constitution. 

This move, according to Duterte, was an attempt to bypass the Constitutional framework for impeachment proceedings and should be invalidated by the Supreme Court.

She also alleged in her petition that the House applied “double standards” in its handling of the impeachment complaints filed against her compared with those lodged against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Duterte then cited a violation of the "One-Year Bar Rule" under Section 3(5) of Article XI of the 1987 Constitution, arguing that the 3rd and 4th impeachment complaints are "void ab initio", or void from the beginning, as it violates constitutional provision.

According to the Vice President, the 3rd and 4th complaints were filed in violation of this rule, especially after the earlier complaints were deemed non-viable and withdrawn on 2 March.

This rule, which previously barred Duterte's impeachment last year, prohibits the initiation of multiple impeachment proceedings against the same official within a one-year period.

“Considering that the subject of the impeachment effort in this case is the removal and perpetual disqualification of the second highest official of the country elected by the overwhelming number of the electorate, the issues raised are of transcendental importance and demanded by the broader interest of justice, as the rights violated are constitutional in character,” the petition stated.

“If not corrected by a writ of certiorari and prohibition, petitioner stands to suffer from the consequences of an unconstitutional impeachment proceeding, including her eventual trial before the respondent Senate,” it added.

Sara Duterte earlier said she intends to run for president in the upcoming 2028 elections, following the footsteps of her father, Rodrigo Duterte, who is on trial at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.