The Senate on Wednesday confirmed it has filed a Manifestation Ad Cautelam before the Supreme Court, following the High Court’s order for Congress to submit comments and information on the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Atty. Regie Tongol, spokesperson for the Senate Impeachment Court, said the manifestation was submitted on Tuesday, 15 June, through the Office of the Senate Legal Counsel.
In the filing, the Senate said it “respectfully informed the Court that it currently lacks sufficient knowledge or access to the specific information requested,” referring to details the Supreme Court asked for regarding the impeachment process.
"The Senate's filing of a Manifestation Ad Cautelam underscores the constitutional boundaries of each branch and the limits of what information the Senate can provide especially when it has no official access to these matters and when these matters are similarly being asked from the House to provide in its Order dated June 11, 2025," Tongol said in a statement.
Last week, the Supreme Court ordered both the House of Representatives and the Senate to provide specific information related to the impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Among the details requested by the High Court are the current status of the first three impeachment complaints, the exact dates these were endorsed, and whether the House Secretary General has the discretion to decide when to transmit the complaints to the Speaker of the House.
SC also asked for the legal basis or authority allowing the House Secretary General to withhold the transmittal of such complaints.
The SC’s directive follows its decision to consolidate two petitions: one filed by Vice President Duterte challenging the validity and constitutionality of the fourth impeachment complaint against her, and another filed by lawyer Israelito Torreon and several others, seeking to nullify the articles of impeachment.
The SC also directed the Senate to identify which committee prepared the draft of the Articles of Impeachment, when the draft was finalized, and whether Duterte was allowed to respond to or be heard on the evidence presented to members of the House of Representatives.
In its manifestation, the Senate maintained that Senate reiterated the constitutional boundaries between branches of government, stating that it cannot provide certain information due to a lack of official access.
The Senate pointed out that the same details are also being requested from the House of Representatives, as reflected in its earlier Order dated June 11, 2025.
“Like the Senate's own Impeachment Court in its Order dated June 10, 2025, the Supreme Court is now seeking more information regarding the House of Representatives' exercise of power to initiate,” Tongol said in a statement.
Back in June, the Senate, sitting as an Impeachment Court, voted to return the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte to the House of Representatives without dismissing or terminating them.
Specifically, the Senate asked the House to certify that the filing of the fourth impeachment complaint does not violate Article XI, Section 3, Paragraph 5 of the Constitution, which states: “No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within one year.” This includes disclosing the circumstances surrounding the first three complaints filed in December 2024, which were all related to the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
The House of Representatives of the 20th Congress also asked to communicate with the Senate that it is ready and willing to pursue the impeachment case against the Vice President.
The fourth impeachment complaint was the only one formally endorsed by more than one-third of House members and later transmitted to the Senate.