Atty. Israelito Torreon and other lawyers have filed a supplemental petition with the Supreme Court urging the tribunal to stop the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte and declare the Articles of Impeachment null and void.
The petition stated that their arguments remain pertinent even after the Senate’s decision to remand the Articles of Impeachment to the House of Representatives.
The supplemental petition, drafted and finalized prior to the Senate’s recent action, seeks the immediate intervention of the SC to enjoin the Senate from proceeding with an impeachment trial.
Petitioners Atty. Torreon, Atty. Martin Delgra III, Atty. James Reserva, Atty. Hillary Olga M. Reserva, et al., sought the immediate issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to prevent irreparable harm and preserve the Vice President’s constitutional rights during the ongoing judicial review of the impeachment process’s validity.
The petition read, “The impeachment process, while inherently political in nature, must still be guided by the minimum requirements of constitutional due process, legality, and adherence to the Rule of Law.”
In its argument, the petition said any deviation from these fundamental principles by constitutional bodies like the House of Representatives and the Senate warrants the high court’s intervention under its expanded jurisdiction to determine grave abuse of discretion.
The petitioners respectfully ask the SC to “give due course to the Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition, and, most urgently, issue a TRO and/or a Writ of Preliminary Injunction to immediately restrain the Senate from conducting an impeachment trial based on the fourth impeachment complaint.”
They also prayed for a decision from the SC that would declare the Articles of Impeachment null and void for failing to meet constitutional requirements on verification and proper initiation of impeachment proceedings.
They also cite the alleged failure to accord due process to Vice President Sara Duterte prior to the filing of what they term “defective Articles of Impeachment.”
The petitioners also point to the “malicious non-action of not one but three prior Impeachment Complaints” which, they contend, was done to bar the application of the ‘Francisco ruling’ that would have prevented the filing of the current fourth impeachment complaint against the Vice President.
They ask the SC to grant a Writ of Prohibition, permanently enjoining the Senate from proceeding with what they deem an invalid impeachment complaint.
Torreon clarified the timing, stating that they prepared and finished the petition prior to the remanding of the impeachment case to the House of Representatives.
He added that following the filing, they would submit a subsequent manifestation to properly inform the SC of the latest developments in the Senate.
Torreon stressed that despite the Senate’s decision to remand, the core issues raised in their supplemental petition remain highly relevant.
He said, “The issues that we raised in the supplemental petition are still relevant and important in the resolution as to whether or not the present impeachment complaint should be dismissed is still proper and still relevant, then we decided to continue in the filing of the same today.”
One of the central arguments put forth by Torreon and his co-petitioners is the issue of “legislative discontinuity,” specifically whether an impeachment complaint can carry over from one Congress to the next.
“Well, there is this issue as to whether or not the impeachment complaint can cross over to the 20th Congress. And that’s one of the issues that we raised here,” Torreon explained.