The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte has formally responded to the writ of summons issued by the Senate impeachment court, calling for the dismissal of the case filed against her.
In a 34-page ad cautelam submitted on Monday — the last day of the 10-day non-extendable period to respond — Duterte’s camp argued that the impeachment complaint violated the Constitution’s one-year bar rule.
“The Fourth Impeachment Complaint must be dismissed because [i]t is void ab initio for violating the one-year bar rule under Section 3 (5) Article XI of the 1987 Constitution, which explicitly prohibits the initiation of more than one (1) impeachment proceeding against the same official within a period of one (1) year,” the document read.
The one-year bar rule prohibits the filing of more than one impeachment case against the same official within a 12-month period.
At least three impeachment complaints against Duterte were filed in the House of Representatives in December. However, only the fourth complaint — submitted to the Senate on 5 February, the last session day before the congressional break — was acted upon.
Duterte’s legal team also claimed there were “no statements of ultimate facts” in the complaint.
“Stripped of its ‘factual’ and legal conclusions, it is nothing more than a scrap of paper,” they said, adding that the impeachment complaint is a “clear abuse of the impeachment process.”
Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives on 5 February, with 215 lawmakers — more than two-thirds of its members — voting in favor.
If convicted by the Senate, Duterte would be removed from office and barred from holding any future public position.
For Duterte to be convicted, the Senate, which will act as the impeachment court, must secure two-thirds of the votes — or at least 16 out of the 24 members.