The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte said its appeal to the Supreme Court questioning the ongoing impeachment proceedings is meant to clarify constitutional issues, not to evade accountability.
In a statement released by the defense team, Duterte’s lawyers confirmed that they had filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition before the high court in relation to the hearings being conducted by the House Committee on Justice.
“To be clear, this is not about avoiding the process…This is about ensuring that the process itself complies with the Constitution,” it said.
Duterte's camp argued that the petition should not be interpreted as an attempt to stall or derail the proceedings in the House of Representatives.
They acknowledged that the House has the authority to initiate impeachment complaints but emphasized that such power has constitutional limits.
“The House has the power to initiate impeachment, but that power is not without limits,” the statement added.
The petition before the Supreme Court seeks to stop the House Committee on Justice from continuing hearings on impeachment complaints against Duterte, arguing that the proceedings may violate constitutional safeguards and due process.
The legal challenge also requests the high court to issue a temporary restraining order against the impeachment process, claiming that the committee may be exceeding its authority in handling the complaints.
The case comes amid renewed attempts to impeach Duterte after the Supreme Court previously nullified a prior impeachment complaint against her in 2025 for violating the Constitution’s one-year bar rule, which prevents multiple impeachment complaints from being initiated within a year.
After that prohibition lapsed in early 2026, new complaints were filed in the House of Representatives, prompting the House Committee on Justice to begin evaluating their sufficiency.
The Vice President is currently facing allegations that include the misuse of confidential funds and alleged threats against senior government officials—accusations her camp has repeatedly denied.